Terra's Titans
by Oblivian0
Summary: This is a story about Terra and the other Titans. Evil leaves its mark on the world, and lives on untill chalenged and overcome. Non stop action and a drop of tragic romace, illistarted at Deviant art.
1. awakening

Awakening

The last thing Terra could remember feeling was the searing heat, that intense heat that only molten rock can achieve, completely surrounding her. Scorching pain from every direction, but even the most torturous agony to her physical body could not contrast to the anguish that scratched at her from the inside. The regret and sorrow consumed her; the will to end it all grew in her as she stood at the edge of the burning cavern. She looked down at the lava rising and falling like a living thing beneath her. She knew it had to end here, now. If she didn't die an entire city would be put to ruin, she had betrayed the one thing that had given her a reason to live, and to die was the only thing left. The lava surged upward and consumed her, she started to scream but wasn't allowed the time. It did end there; suddenly it was dark and cold. Then somehow Terra opened her eyes.

Bubbles rose all around her, and the pain was gone. A respirator was attached to her face, and their where strange things latched to her in various parts of her body. Terra sat up quickly and broke the surface of the water she was submerged in. She quickly began tearing off the strange devises attached to her. They came off easily and struck the hard floor with a clinking sound. Finally she unlatched the breathing apparatus and flung it away.

Free of her bonds she rapidly glanced around at her soundings. She was alone, the room it self was basically empty except for the strange device she was sitting in. Slowly she stepped out and examined it. It was a capsule of some kind, just big enough to hold one person. Various gages and buttons speckled the surface of the strange machine, none of witch Terra could make any sense of. Its internal gizmos where hidden from view. She leaned over and looked in the water filled vat that she had awakened in moments earlier. Small fragments of what looked like lava rocks floated in the strange fluid, and the wires she had discarded hung out off the sides. Then she looked down at her self, she had felt naked, but she now realized that she wasn't. The vile suit that Slade had attached to her when she was still his apprentice was latched to her body. The outfit felt like it was apart of her skin, as if the mettle was her skin. Looking away in disgust tears flowed from her eyes, as the painful memories flowed back into her mind. She wished she _had_ died, that none of it had even happened. That _he_ had never happened. Then she heard a slight whirring sound coming from the corner.

She looked up and glanced around the room once again. This time she noticed something up in the far corner of the ceiling; slowly she walked over and looked up at the camera. A small green light looked back at her like an eye, she stared right back at her silent observer. After a few moments the small green light clicked off and Terra was alone again. She was cold and wet with water and tears. Shivering, she slowly crept toward the door.

The electronic door snapped open as she approached; out side was a long, blank hall way with metallic floor, ceiling and walls. The florescent lights hummed softly as Terra cautiously strode down the long hallway. Each room along the hallway was dark and empty, though Terra didn't bother to look in a single one. The passage ended with a small stairway leading upward, after only a few steps the stairs stopped in what looked like a wooden cellar door. It was locked but a swift kick broke it open. Terra was growing even more awake, she didn't like it, and the less numb she was the more she could remember. She stepped out in what looked like a small tool shed, it was only slightly colder outside then it was in the dark laboratory in the cellar. Various wrenches and screw drivers where carelessly scattered around the shack. In the corner was a pair of worn leather hiking boots, with out thinking Terra slipped them on her bare feet. Walking on the cold metallic floor of the hallway had left them cold and numb. There didn't seem to be any other articles of clothing so Terra would just have to go cold. The frosty air felt the same against her skin as it did on the metallic outfit grafted to her. Glaring down at the S engraved into the orange disk on her chest made her felt the tears rising up again. Snarling she grasped a near by flat head screwdriver and plunged it into the satanic symbol, Terra screamed out in agony as the pain of the stab wound rippled through her body. She half expected blood to poor from Slade's emblem. Crying out in anguish Terra ripped the symbol from her body. Dizzy with pain Terra hit her knees, the boards beneath her cracked slightly as she fell. The screwdriver, still piercing the orange circle rolled in to the dark corner and out of view. She gasped for air as her ears buzzed and her vision blurred. Terra reached up and grasped the corner of work bench and heaved herself up, she still panted slightly but the pain was fading. No tears though, she only cried for Beast Boy.

The door to the shed wasn't locked so she peeked out, Terra still felt naked even with the evil equipment attached to her, so she wasn't looking forward to stepping out side. She gasped at what she saw beyond the door. It was the carnival she had lived at for so long and where shed taken Beat Boy for their last few happy moments together. It looked long abandoned; the rides where decaying and nature had reclaimed most of what had once belonged to it. Terra staggered in to the open and glanced around nervously, alone or not she still felt uncomfortable. She felt the sting of the removal of that hated emblem like the pain of an open wound; all that was left now was only a black hole in the center of her chest. Only ten feet away was the photo booth that she and BB had been so happy in, past that was the collapsed Farris Wheel. Terra stood in the cold wind looking at the destroyed wreckage for what seemed like forever, she wished she could stay there forever, lost in her memories. Where would she go now? Terra looked up at the sky as small white flakes of snow fell down around her.

Terra clutched her sides for warmth and slowly walked back into the tool shed. After rummaging around in the piles of rusty parts she found a slicker. She slipped it on and curled up in the corner. Her breath rose in gusts smoke in front of her face, which felt fitting to her, she felt like some vile smoke breathing demon, she hated herself for what she had done to him. She was exhausted, her eyes fluttered and her head slowly drooped. Then she remembered something, she had seen a word carved in to the side of the strange machine she had awaken in, but she hadn't registered what it said. Terra shot up and flung the wooden cellar doors open, she hopped down the stairs then ran down the hall way with the sound of her heavy boots striking the ground echoed in the empty shell of a laboratory. Maybe it could give her a lead or something of what the hell was going on. She burst through the door in to the room she had awakened in, the camera was still silent. Etched in the side of the capsule was a single fraise, Cloning Vat.


	2. Wild thing

Wild thing

(Part 1)

A plane took off from the Brazilian airport with a single crate of cargo on government orders with ten armed guards and two pilots, on July 16th _1993._ It returned to the states August 3rd, with four guards and one pilot. The crate was rushed to a laboratory in Northern Wyoming, after thirty minutes of custody the cargo was reported to have escaped. A patrol of twenty man where sent up into mountains to recover the object in question. Three returned. The entire state was put on a lockdown, but no sightings of the creature where reported. When the governor was questioned about this he was clueless as to the reason for the extreme measures taken in apprehending a single animal. The Central Intelligence Agency assured the public that there was no beast on the loose and the lock down was to catch an internet hacker that was suspected to be in the area. Several convoys of troops where spotted moving through out the rocky mountains for several months after ward, nine years after the troops where recalled and the Government had all but given up on finding there lost prize is when we join our young fugitive

Torrent was about fifteen at the time. He'd been on the run his whole life, but it didn't seem to bother him. He was always smiling and laughing, everything was a game to him and it was only getting more fun. His games kept him occupied, hunting, exploring, or studying the various man made constructs that puzzled him so much. The crate he was imprisoned in was one of his favorites. He managed to escape the research center along with the entire metallic box, as well as the bonds they had tried to restrain him with. With all of these strange metallic plates Torrent constructed a crude arm brace extending from his left shoulder to his right knuckles.

This young renegade has a strange ability you see, some would call it a disorder but it was the only thing that kept him alive in the harsh wilderness. Torrent can learn even the most complex things in record time simply by observing them, which is why he became so like the animals around him. None of his former humanity remains, because he never had human contact in his early years of life, instead he absorbed the abilities of the animals around him. His time in the Amazon familiarized him with some of the most lethal predators know to man. Their behavior, their skills, their prey, he studied and learned anything. If he observes anything even for a short time he can evaluate the strengths, flaws, and counter moments needed to take it down. When he was taken to the northern Americas, even more predator's behavior where assimilated in to his way of life. After he became conscious of his ability to learn he became confident, almost cocky. Everything was just another chance to learn a new move; every risk was just another game. So he started to venture closer and closer to civilization.

The one thing he still couldn't figure out was humans, his own race. Their complexities and variations eluded his understanding. So he studied them from afar, he found a near by school with children about his age and watched them from the forest at the edge of its green fields. He watched the stronger ones pick on the weaker ones, the older ones ruling the younger ones, he saw how similar humans where to the rest of the animal kingdom. Slowly he was begun to simulate their upright walking methods. In fact he stared to move around in that technique the majority of time, although he still slouched most of the time. When he did choose to stand at his full height he found himself to be larger then the majority of the children at the school, a good foot or two actually. After several weeks of observing humans he seemed satisfied with his discoveries and was about to move on, then the school exploded.

Purge

(Part 2)

Ann Filler was about fourteen, and was just finishing her Eighth grade in Jr. High. She'd gone through a hard school year, bullies, grades, psychotic teachers, the works, but she had gotten through it. Her year was almost over, but then there would be a long Ninth year and then high school, there was no end it sight. She got good grades, an A average, her family was consistently stressing the point that her life would go to hell if she didn't ace Geography. None the less Ann put up with her life and enjoyed it every once in a while. The rest of the kids where inside gorging them selves on the cheap plastic pizza they made on Saturday and sold on Thursday, Ann was sitting under a tree reading her newest book, "Call of the Wild" by Jack London. Then suddenly her eye caught a slight movement in the tree above her, slowly she looked upward. A small but very fat chipmunk was trying to scale the truck of the tree she was leaning against. It hauled it massive bulk slowly upward until it reached the lowest branch, where it crawled out on the limb and flopped down panting heavily.

She sighed and shook her head as she looked up at the creature only two feet above her head, "Only in America." She thought to herself.

Then the breath caught in her throat, beyond the bloated chipmunk she saw someone perched in a tree at the forest's edge looking at her. He was looking down at her, almost studying her. The boy's eyes where dazzling Amber colored, they stood out from the shadows like a dog's would shine at night. The book fell from her hands as she stood to run. Then she saw him crouch as if getting ready to pounce. The Bell sounded and Ann glanced quickly back at the school, when her head snapped back to the boy, and he was gone. The branch he had been squatting and still swung slightly, but the young teenager who had sat there was no where to be seen. An English teacher called for to 'hurry the hell up or get a god dame detention', so Ann bent over and grabbed her book and jogged quickly back through the doors of her school.

Math was Ann's worst subject; normally she would spend the entire period furiously scribbling notes, but today she continuously found her self staring out the window to the forest at the end of the school grounds. The teacher, Mr. Fiddly, had to call her name out several times to grasp her attention. Every time though her eyes would slowly drift toward the line of the trees lining the horizon, and her mind wandered.

"He looked about my age, maybe a little older. His clothes where torn and dirty, maybe he was some homeless kid. Maybe he lived nearby but his family was poor. Maybe he was an Alien, who cares!" Her mind kept trying to find reasons to block the image of the boy from her memory, but none the less she kept staring at those trees waving in the wind. The bell rang and made her mind snap back to reality, and she began to furiously packing up her books when the teacher called her name,

"Mrs. Filler, would you speak with me please." He had one of those, I'm trying not to snap, tones in his voice. Ann smiled nervously and slowly walked up to his desk. The second she sat down next to him, Fiddly asker a question,

"Do you know you current grade in my class, Ann?" He was smiling slightly which made her uncomfortable.

"Um, a C?" she wanted to leave but the door was blocked by his desk

"A D, Mrs. Filler." He was still smiling

"Oh." She had know for a while, now.

"So what are your plans?" his teeth where slightly yellow from smoking.

"Ah, try harder?" She would say anything just to get the hell out of there.

"Are you willing to do the work?" Razing one eyebrow as he leaned forward, she shrank back into her seat. The last of the other students left the class room.

"Um, yes." He laughed slightly and put his hand on her knee.

"No, no, my child, I meant what are you willing to do, to pass?" The hand slid up her leg, and then it happened. Ann gripped the side of her head and screamed.

Pain shot through her head momentarily then there was a loud cracking sound and Mr. Fiddly exploded, but it didn't stop there. His desk burst into splinters, the door was reduced to toothpicks, the bricks set in the wall where ripped apart. A blinding white light flashed and everything within sixty feet from where Ann was sitting was reduced to rubble. The migraine faded and Ann opened her eyes, her school lay in pieces. For a few seconds there was silence then every one started shrieking. Children and teachers alike ran screaming, one of the teachers pointed at Ann and cried,

"She's got a bomb!" This accusation only caused more frantic screams and more people to flee away from the wreckage.

Ann heard muffled sirens approaching in the distance, they where coming for her. She started to breathe heavily, her veins pumped adrenalin, and her heart began to beat furiously. She panicked, and ran. The walls of the school where no longer intact so she ran directly to the line of trees, she had no where else to go, but just before she disappeared into the thick underbrush she heard the sirens pull up to the school and stop. Branches grabbed at her face and tore at her skin as she stumbled through the pine trees and aspen groves. She couldn't yet hear the police but she knew they where coming, and that she couldn't out run them. That explosion had really taken it out of her, she was surprised that she had the energy to move. The adrenalin was running thin in her blood and her muscle ached, soon she could hear police crashing through the woods behind her. They where running hard, they where so close she could hear the crackle of radio chatter echoing through the trees. Tears poured down her face, her mussels screamed and her Migraine was returning. Ann slowed to a stop and fell to her knees next to a large rock. She could feel the pulses in her head as her brain wailed with pain, what ever happened back there wasn't natural, and her body was rejecting it. The world suddenly felt distant as her vision got fuzzy, Ann felt like she was looking though out at her life from a room in the back of her head. Then she saw those amber eyes again looking down at her again.

Six Police burst through the foliage to find the girl they where chasing waiting for them. Each officer was wearing fully plated body armor and carried fully automatic machine guns. They wore gas masks and full packs. A little excessive for running down a single young suspected girl. One of the men stepped off to the side and radioed in that 'the girl was in custody and they where on their way back'. The other five troops circled around the Fourteen year old child and talked to one another.  
"Well, we finally got her."

"Yea, took long enough. Just think of how many tax dollars where spent in tracking little 'miss explode stuff' cost us."

"What really blows my mind is that she was right here the whole time!"

"Yea, a hundred divisions in a hundred other countries to find one like this and she ends up being right under our noises." The radio officer walked over and joined the group, after a few moments silence he scratched his head and asked,  
"Hey what's she looking at?" All six men turned in unison and looked up in the trees above them. Before they even had a chance to raise there guns Torrent hit the first one. He lunged from the branch he'd been observing on and close lined the radio guy with his elbow. The glass covering his eyes shattered and the mask covering his mouth was driven in and broke the man's nose. Before he could finish screaming, Torrent whirled around and swept the legs out from two others, their guns sprayed up in to the air as they fell. They hit the ground hard and Torrent grasped the ankles and flung them against the large rock, small pebbles broke off when the two slammed fiercely against the boulder. Realizing they where under attack two of the officers charged Torrent, he grabbed the two by the head and cracked their skulls together. They crumpled to the ground, and then he turned to the last one. The officer brought up his gun and took aim. Torrent slapped the gun aside and in three quick moves broke the guys arm in six places. He gun fell from his hand as he screamed, but before it could hit the ground Torrent whirled around and brought his heal hard against the side of the mans temple, his screams where cut short and he crumpled to the ground. Ann wasn't sure if Torrent had killed him or if the officer would spend the rest of his life as a vegetable, nether would have surprised her.

After looking around at his collection of victims, Torrent turned to Ann. She saw he was smiling, very broadly. He looked kind of crazy, with his hair all messy and his eyes wide with glee, but for some reason Ann wasn't scarred. The police had scarred the hell out of her but Torrent for some reason had no effect over her. Even when he started walking toward her she didn't shrink away or feel at all in danger. Torrent bent down and pulled a small dart from out of her neck. Her head began to clear and her vision returned to normal, what ever drug was in that dart it was wearing off. He sniffed the dart briefly then tossed it over his shoulder, and then he put out his hand to help Ann up. His hand had small claws at the tip of each finger. His entire body was pretty dirty but he smelled as if he had taken a bath earlier that day. His shirt was torn in numerous places and his pants where faded and tattered. The strange contraption covering his right arm was surprisingly well polished however, the leather straps fastening it into place where well kept too. Then she realized she was staring, she giggled slightly then took his hand.


	3. Alone

Alone

Beast Boy sat staring at a black, silent TV. He had been planning on playing some video games, but all the things that used to mean so much to him felt pointless and empty to him lately. So he sat and did nothing, he just thought, but every time he let his mind wander it found its way back to her. He tried to keep at the things he once loved, tofu, games, or practical jokes. They hadn't outgrown him; Beast Boy remembered the fun he used to have playing, the good times he had with her. Now that she was gone, nothing really mattered. Hiding his recent coldness from his friends was hard. To act happy when he was all but dead inside was nearly impossible. The last thing Beast Boy wanted was for his friend to feel sympathy him for what happened, he didn't need pity. What happened was beyond their control, beyond his control. He was alone now and he could feel how ever he wanted, but he didn't feel anything.

Cyborg walked into the living room furiously consuming several burgers, He'd gone out for a mid day snack and was planning to share his bounty with his best buddy BB. He stopped with half of a burger hanging out of his mouth. He hadn't expected his friend to be looking miserably at the black screen of a silent TV. Frowning Cyborg set down his food and walked over at Beast Boy. It wasn't like Beast boy to act like this, BB was normally ecstatic regardless of what he was doing, but right now Beast Boy looked anything but thrilled. He leaned against the couch and casually asked,

"What's up Beast Boy?" Even though his tone was low and clam, the sudden presents of another person alarmed Beast Boy enough to jump up from his seat. BB twirled around wide eyed and fists clinched. Cyborg smiled and jumped on to the couch. He raised his mechanical eye brown in a questioning look as he waited for Beast Boy to answer his question. BB looked at Cyborg for several seconds before he responded,

"Nothing'." He flopped back in his seat and slouched heavily.

"Like hell nothing, you haven't been your self lately man. You can tell me."

"Really man, I'm perfectly fine. I'm just really tired." He smiled, but it felt fake on his face. Like a mask.

"Don't try that on me, I've know you better then any one, and you got something going on in that little green head of yours. What is it?"

"Just don't worry about it, ok." Beast Boy stood up and walked away. Cyborg felt hurt, he got up to follow him but was cut off by Starfire.

"Hello friend! I've made something for Beast Boy have you seen our little Green comrade." She was smiling and holding a very poorly wrapped gift.

"Look Star, I don't thing BB's in the mood for gifts right now." Starfire looked confused, her smile faded,

"But Beast Boy is always in the good mood, what could be wrong?"

"I don't know Star, He won't tell me. I think we should give the guy some time. I've never seen him like this, not sense Terra."

Beast Boy was lying on his floor starring up in to nothing. He didn't feel sad, he didn't feel anything. He was torn in so many directions. He didn't know what to do. He missed what he used to be. He missed the bliss of ignorance. The ignorance of the pain life can cause, the ignorance that she existed or the ignorance of how ugly the world can be. Terra changed his life, he always thought no one that perfect could survive in our harsh word, and in a way she hadn't. Terra got tainted by Slade's influence. The notion of that evil creature made the hair rise on the back of his neck.

Beast Boy stood and walked toward the window, to look out on the city that was so full of evil. He could feel a growl rumbling somewhere in the back of his throat, his mussels where taught and his heart was pumping. He needed to discharge. He needed to take out his pain on something, anything. The city was out their waiting for him, there had to be a crime somewhere, some crook that needed to be torn limb from limb. He opened the window and was preparing to leap when a knock sounded from his door.

"Beast Boy, I need to talk to you." It was raven. One of the others must have made her come and try to cheer him up. Her thinking she could fix everything just made him even more enraged.

"Leave me alone Raven, tell the others to back off! I don't need a lecture right now!" The snap in his voice was unintentional.

"No one sent me Beast Boy, what's wrong?" He slowly turned from the window. It wasn't like Raven to talk to him like this, in wasn't like her to talk to him at all really.

"Look Raven you don't want to get involved, I'll be fine." The lie burned in the back of his throat.

"Terra's gone." Beast Boy was surprised by her bluntness, but he recovered quickly enough to make a response.

"Why the hell did you bring her up, this has nothing to do with her!" He was screaming now.

"You forget I'm psychic." The bolt on his door turned black and clicked open.

"Hey! Did I say you can come in?" Regardless Raven calmly stepped in the door.

"You need to move on, what you're putting yourself through isn't healthy."

"Move on? What ever happened to saving her Raven! I know I'm the only one who still cares, and I'm _not_ letting go of that!" He was in her face.

"I'm not the one who made her go insane Beat Boy! I'm just trying to help you, but every time I try you push me away!"

"Help me? You cant even bare to look at me! If its not some wise crack about my stupidity its something else!" Raven glared at Beast Boy and he just glared right back.

Then she leaned forward and kissed him. A short kiss, right on the lisps, Beast Boy's heart caught in his through and the hair on the back of his neck dropped. She pulled back immediately and looked down at the floor. She blushed and it burned brightly against her pale face. Beast Boy was bewildered, the awkward silence was only apparent to Raven as she avoided looking up at the stunned Beast Boy. When his eyes focused he looked down at her, she slowly looked back up at him. Their eyes locked and the Raven burned even more brightly in the cheeks.

He grabbed her and kissed her deep, this time it was Ravens turn to be stunned. Several stacks of paper and clothing exploded as Raven's emotions began to break free. Then she hugged him back as then kiss deepened. The windows burst, his bed cracked, the television flicked on and off, the entire tower trembled as her power expressed it self. The two where too enveloped to hear or see the environment around them writhe and convulse. Locked in their embrace they spun in a torrent of shrapnel and wind. As their lips parted the tempest rescinded slightly and he felt her breath heavily against his face. They looked at one another as the winds around them slowly died. Beast boy could hear the TV on in the back ground, a news reporter was frantically chattering about something, and then he realized what.

"The notorious criminal Terra was sighted in the city at four o'clock this afternoon. She has yet to be..." The screen exploded in to black shards. Beast Boy looked back at Raven, tears where welling up in her eyes,

"No..." was all she could say before she broke and cried openly. Beast Boy looked down at her with visible pain in his eyes,

"I'm sorry." He said and let her go and walked toward the shattered window.

"You don't have to!" Raven hit her knees. Beast Boy paused at the window and looked back at her, he stood at the threshold of the window looking down at the suffering Raven for several seconds, then turned and jumped into the air. He morphed into an eagle and soured over the ocean toward the city. Raven watched him go with tears flowing down her cheeks. She grasped the sides of her face and screamed; the Tower quaked and shook violently as she cried out. Beast Boy heard her yell but continued flying.


	4. Strangers

Strangers

Winter had died away and summer had resurrected from its ashes. Terra was sitting on a rock on a grass covered hill over looking a lush valley. She looked out on the beauty of the season and thought of Beast Boy. She had survived the unforgiving winter by creating a small cave to live in but her powers where still slowly returning. Her abilities coming back frightened Terra, she didn't think she had the extreme superiority at her command as before, she wasn't even sure if she had complete control. Ether way she wasn't safe to herself or others, so she avoided any and all human contact. If she was found there might be a chance that Beast Boy would find out she wasn't dead, she didn't want to break his heart again, when he learned that she wasn't the real thing. That she was a clone. She missed him, and she wanted nothing more then to go running back into his arms, but nothing but more pain would come of that. To hurt him again would destroy her. So she had run away again, and hidden in a place no one would find her.

Then she saw something in the valley below her. There where people walking, they looked young, almost her age. Terra was hiding in a restricted nature preserve. No human had even set foot on most of these mountains. Any signs of civilization where at least fifty miles away, how two teens with no packs could have gotten out here was beyond her. She stood and slowly crept closer. She crouched behind a tree half way up the hill, and looked down. As she neared, their faces and actions became easier to make out. They didn't seem to be in trouble, in fact they where smiling, she thought she heard a burst of laughter as if one of them had cracked a funny joke. One was a young man and the other was a girl. Terra suddenly lost interest, probably some rich young couple going on some overly priced eccentric vacation. Then the girl pulled something out of her pocket and tossed it into the air. The boy dropped on all fours and sprinted forward after the object. He leapt from the ground and caught it in his mouth. Terra was shocked, sure the kid had surprisingly large sideburns but he looked relatively human from here. As if the boy had heard Terra's thoughts the young man stood and looked directly at her. What looked like a stick dropped from his mouth and he started walking toward her. Frantically she got up to run, climbing up the hill was considerably harder then walking down it however, and Terra would dare not use her powers. She reached the top of the hill and twisted back to look at her pursuers. She only saw the girl, she was standing with her arms crossed looking up at her, it didn't even look as if she had taken a step from where she was when Terra had started to flee. The boy with the lard side burns was no where to be found however. Terra glanced left and right but the tree's where empty. Then the girl down in the valley cupped her hands around her mouth and called out,

"Torrent! Don't hurt her!" Terra looked directly up, and saw the boy was falling downward as if he had just crested an inconceivably large jump.

Terra turned to run again but the boy landed several feet away from her with a defining thud. He looked up and smiled at her. The smile was large and toothy, his teeth in fact where pointed and sharp looking. His eyes where a radiant amber color, like many of the leaves carpeting the ground. He whore tattered jeans and a shredded black t-shirt. Several metallic plates where crudely strapped to his right arm, small scars and scratches covered his body, it gave him an unkempt look. Slowly he stood from all fours and started to walk toward her on his two hind legs. Terra turned to try running back down the hill but was cut off by the girl. She floated down slowly from the sky and landed gently on the rock Terra had been sitting oh earlier. The girl smiled sweetly and said,

"Hello, my name's Ann Filler." She was inexplicably happy. Terra raised on eye brow subconsciously. "What's a young girl like you doing out here in the middle of nowhere, are you lost?" Terra slowly lowered her guard and stood up strait.

"Um, I was going to ask you guys the same thing. I guess your not with the government or anything then, Huh?" At the mention of government Ann's smile faded slightly,

"No, and I guess neither are you." Terra could tell these kids where just as unused to meeting people out here as she was. The girl she was talking to was about the same size as her but the other one was somewhere around six two, She had long blond hair tied up in a large pony tail and he had shaggy dirty blond hair, she was slim and he was muscular, Ann's eyes where a strange white color and the boy she called Torrent had bright amber eyes, and both of them had a disturbing habit of smiling continuously at her. The boy's smile scarred her though; he smiled the way a crocodile would smile. Torrent had metallic plates strapped down his right arm and Ann Filler had s small crystal implanted into the center of her forehead, strange kids.

"I'm Terra." Terra said hesitantly. Ann turned to the boy and said,

"Well? I taught you how to make someone's acquaintance, now's as good of a time as any to practice." The boy walked in front of Terra and smiled at her for several seconds, and then in a quick movement that made Terra jump he thrust out his right hand.

"Hello, my name it Torrent, how are you this afternoon?" His words where surprisingly well pronounced, though his grammar was a little off.

"Um, fine. Ann?" Terra peeked around Torrent and looked at the blond haired girl. "Why do you call him that?"

Instead of answering Ann floated over and pointed at one of the strange pieces of metal attached to Torrent's right shoulder. In faded black letters the words 'Project Torrent' where stamped on the gray mettle.

"Now that we've all introduced our selves we come to the question at hand, who are you, and who sent you to find us." Ann's smile disappeared and she looked serious.

"What? No one sent me here, and I wasn't spying on you! I was sitting up here minding my own business and you two came out of no where." Terra felt insulted, she'd ruined her life by spying and there was no way she would ever do it again.

"Ok, then what where you doing out here?" Wile Ann calmly interrogated Terra, Torrent stood silently off to the side, smiling to himself.

"Let's just say I'm avoiding contact with a curtain person. Why? What are you doing out here?" Terra crossed her arms,

"We also could go with out being discovered. In fact you're the only one we've met out here so far."

"Who are _you _running from?" Terra suddenly felt like the three of them had something in common, birds of a feather and such.

"Well... we don't really know, hence why you are a security hazard."

"Are you calling be a spy again?!"

"Lets gust say we'd like to keep track of you. The people where dealing with have ways of extracting information that we'd rather not have get out."

"What do you mean 'keep tabs'?" Terra raised her eye brow even higher,

"It's getting dark. We batter make camp, I suggest you come with us Terra. We can swap stories." Ann smiled and started to walk down the hill, Torrent waited for Terra to follow, then walked down himself.


	5. History

History

Light from the fire danced against the dark trees surrounding Terra and her new friends, the night was warm but the fire was still refreshing. The three teen's sat on the ground facing the fire, the moon was high in the sky, it didn't look like they where going to sleep much tonight. It was Terra who asked the first question.

"So, you guys brother and sister or something?"

"Close, but no, Torrent and I have been avoiding the same pursuers together for almost three years. We appear to have a common enemy, so we decided to stick together. We've been out here for several years. Are you ready to tell us why you're out here?"

"I take it you guys never heard of Slade? No you wouldn't have if you where out here all that time. Well, you see I used to be a drifter like you guys...

Terra told her story to the two young outcasts, the moon rose higher and higher in the sky as time pasted. She told of how she had met the Titan, of her inability to control her powers, of Slade, Beast Boy was painful to speak of, but she told of him too. She explained how she'd gained control and used her powers to turn on her friends. When she was done she felt better, it felt good to get it all out, to say it all out loud in stead of keeping it bottled up inside. Ann looked shocked. Torrent seemed apathetic though his smile still shined on his face. He hadn't really seemed to be listening the majority of the story, so her being a wanted criminal didn't seem to bother him.

"You took control of the whole city in a day?" Ann mouth was slightly agape

"Yup." Terra felt a small of tang of pride.

"And these Titans, do you ever feel any regret for turning on them?"

"Every Day." Anger burned deep in side of her but Terra contained her urge to rip Ann to pieces, the anger was more toward herself anyway.

"If you're so powerful, who are you running from?"

"I'm not running." Terra looked away. She never enjoyed lying, even to herself

"It's the one you called Beast Boy isn't it?" Terra blushed and turned completely away from the fire, "It's ok Terra, maybe its time you heard our story."

"Both Torrent and I have abilities most humans aren't blessed with, I'm a type of physic and Torrent has an accelerated understanding when it comes to learning or absorbing things from observation. This ability is unheard of, so the government has been hunting him, they have also been searching for me for reasons I'm not yet sure of. Torrent has spent the majority of is life in the wild, so instead of absorbing human traits he fused himself with the traits of wild animals, mostly predators. His personality reflects many North American carnivores, but there's some South American influences there to. When we met he had been watching humans for some time, but he was still more beast then human. He can jump incredible distances and is far stronger then any one else I've ever heard of.

"From what Torrent can remember, he was captured by the military and taken away from his home. He doesn't exactly recall where home is, somewhere in South America. With the help of his gifts he escaped and survived in the wild alone. He made that strange thing on his arm out of the cage they put him in, it's surprisingly strong, after several years the men who where chasing him gave up and Torrent was able to venture near humans again, and that's when he found me. Torrent saved me after I had my first explosion of psychic energy, the same men who where chasing him came for me. After we got away they sent countless search parties to hunt us down. It was only after we came here that we've been left alone.

I started to teach Torrent every thing I knew, that's when I realized what his gifts where. He picked up the entire American language and some French in a single year, writing took him two months, and he even learned complex mathematics in three days. It's the social things that are hardest for him to grasp. Once he spent three minutes watching a cougar stalking an elk, now he can move through heavy underbrush and not make a sound. His senses are very acute, he can hear, taste, smell, feel, and see better then you or I could imagine. I've really been spending my time out here observing him and figuring him out. Ironically psychology has always been my thing. Of course being able to read him mind helps a lot."

"Wait, you can read minds." Terra suddenly felt very insecure

"How do you think we intend to make sure you're not a spy?'

"Then why didn't you just read my mind instead of making me tell you that long ass story!" Terra would have much rather not have poured salt on old wounds if she could have avoided it.

"It doesn't work like that, its more of I lie detector. With Torrent it's different. With how long we've been alone out here together I've kind of developed a link with him. I can decipher his basic mood, like right now he's bored out of his mind." Torrent was half a sleep slumped against a tree.

"I could have told you that." Terra rolled her eyes.

"I can also tell where he is and what he's doing most of the time, like right now he's picking his teeth, with the claw on his index finger." Ann didn't even turn around, and Torrent was doing exactly what Ann predicted, looking up in the trees causally removing small bits of whatever poor animal he'd found to eat that night.

"Ok, so that's your power, following fuzzy over there around making him do all your dirty work?" Terra was smiling, Ann smiled back

"No, I can levitate my self as well as other objects. It's easier to throw them though. It's true my powers are still developing, I also have the lack of control you said you where once inflicted with. It's only happened twice but..."

"I know." Terra understood how Ann was feeling now, alone except for one person. She had Torrent; Terra was alone with out Beast Boy.

"You don't have to be alone you know." Terra was shocked that Ann was strong enough to hear her thoughts. Just a second ago she had explained how feeble her hold over her gift was. Then as if to answer her thoughts "My power has its surges, some bigger then others. You can come with us though Terra, you seem nice and we could use more company."

"Did you hear me; I turned on and almost killed the last group of people that took me in."

"Terra, I know what..."

Ann was cut short when a spot light snapped on over their heads, Torrent roared out in pain and covered his eyes, and Ann stood up and looked around. Terra stared directly in the beam and let her eyes adjust. As her pupils opened she saw the silhouette of a Black Hawk chopper form. She saw ropes fling outward from each side and six black figures repel out ward. A shot was fired and Ann clutched her neck and hit the ground. Terra ripped a rock from the ground and flung it at the spot light, the glass shattered and the night was back again. The silent Helicopter had blown their fire out. Terra was blind in the lack of any light; Torrent however dropped his hands from his eyes and smiled.

All six agents landed simultaneously, and then clicked on flash lights that where attached to the barrels of the SMG's each man was armed with. Terra could only see the beams of light shinning against the black night, the forms of her assailants were hidden in the endless darkness. She bent over and felt Ann's pulse, it was weak but steady. She pulled a small needle from Ann's neck; they must have knocked her out to keep her from using her telepathy. Each light then locked on her; there was a pause then on of the man spoke,

"Where's the other one, I only see the two girls?" almost immediately after the question was asked the agent on Terra's far left screamed and was pulled back into the dark undergrowth. The other five spun and began firing blindly into the bushes. The shrubs and trees snapped apart as needles where driven in to them, and then there was silence again. Every light was now fixed on the motionless shattered bush. The plant stayed unmoving as the men closed in on it. One of the agents pushed the braches aside to reveal the man who had been snatched covered in small tranquilizing needles. Another agent screamed, this time from the back of the group, but by the time the others turned he was already gone. One of the men pulled out a flair gun and fired a shot into the air. The small clearing was filled with a hazy green light. The remaining four attackers turned to Terra,

"Tranquilize her." One man ordered, but before they could raise their guns Torrent burst from the trees above them, the man who had ordered the shot was struck hard across the face by Torrent's metallically platted right fist. His jaw cracked and he fell to the ground. Torrent grasped the one closest to him by the helmet and threw him into the other two; all three men fell to the ground, their guns sliding off into the darkness. The first of the fallen who stood was grasped by the wrist and slammed in to one of the needle covered tree. The second caught a round house to the face and a knee in the ribs. The smile on Torrent's face seemed so insanely out of place, the kind of way the grim reaper would be out of place at a tea party. Terra looked on in a sort of horror as the young man ripped and tour through her attackers with such glee. The last man to stand was tripped again; Torrent placed his foot on the agent's chest and smiled down at his victim.

The earth around Torrent ruptured upward and knocked him off his feet, he landed with his back against a boulder, the rock cracked and fractured to form a fist. The hand grasped Torrent before he could realize what was happening. He looked toward Terra in disbelief, but the same feeling of shock was etched across her fetchers. Only she wasn't looking at Torrent, her gaze was fixed skyward at a young girl. A young girl standing on a levitating stone, a young girl with glowing yellow eyes and short blond hair, a young girl that looked exactly like Terra.

Terra's twin floated down and stepped off her platform. She turned quickly to the remaining soldier in black as he staggered to his feet. He nodded toward the entrapped Torrent,

"Tranq him." Then she turned toward Terra. "Hello there me, how am I doing today." She smiled. It reminded Terra so much of her own smile. She was wearing a black suit similar to that of the other agents. Her hair was the same as Terra's only cut short to six inches in length. She had blue eyes like Terra, a small nose like Terra, even the same body shape. The Terra in black seemed to realize what the other was thinking,

"Amazing isn't it, how similar we are." The agent that had shot Torrent with the same incapacitating needle that Ann took in the neck walk up beside the Terra in black. "But unlike you, I have complete control over my powers, and I have friends." She nodded toward the man to her left. He raised his gun and fired.


	6. Motive

Motive

Before the tower began to shake, robin had been training in his personal gym, Star had been tirelessly working on a new gift to cheer Beast Boy up, and Cyborg sat in his room thinking silently about what might be wrong with his best friend; but when the walls rumbled and cracked every titan stopped what they where doing and looked around in confusion. Robin dropped his staff, Star dropped the supper glue and Cyborg ran from his room. All three met in the hallway and asked the same question in unison,

"What's going on?" No one answered because they where all equally clueless of what the hell was going, then after several seconds Starfire spoke up,

"Where is Beast Boy and Raven?" She looked around expecting them to run up and join the group as always. Robin snatched the mini communicator attached to his belt and clicked in on,

"BB, Raven, report." Only static feedback answer him, he once more pushed the com button and barked out orders, "Beast Boy, Raven, what is your situation, come back!" Once again only static replied.

"What do you think happened man?" Cyborg scratched the back if his metallic skull in confutation. Robin was quick to snap back at him,

"If I knew you think I'd be standing here!" Robin obviously didn't enjoy not being in control of the situation. "Instead of just standing there like a useless vending machine you could help and find the two missing Titans while me and Star go see if where under attack! If your security system actually worked half the time this wouldn't keep happening!"

"Hey look it's not my..." But Cyborg was cut short by Robin exploding again.

"Argue with me after this is under control! Find them and contact me ASAP!"

Cyborg was petrified with astonishment at his friend's outburst. He stood in the middle of the hallway with his mouth half open as Robin stormed off, Star paused to glance back at the bewildered Cyborg, looked as if she was about to say something, then turned and glided along after her leader. After the shock warred off Cyborg glared down the hallway at Robin's back He wanted to say something to put that spiky haired tyrant in his place but right now they where in serious trouble, Raven and BB might be in trouble.

First he checked Raven's room, but it was vacant. Beast Boy's room was messy but it was always messy, this time however the majority of the furniture had been decimated and there where large chunks of the wall missing, there had obviously been struggle. Cyborg couldn't find any clues to where his troubled friend had departed to, so he continued to search the rest of the tower. The basement was as cold and empty as ever. The TV in the common's room had cracked in two and the kitchen had exploded in to a mass of food and broken dishes. Many things around Titans Tower had seemingly spontaneously combusted but no signs of a forced entry could be found. All the doors where lock and undamaged, from what Cyborg could tell no one was assaulting Titan's tower. Something had happened however, some force had rampaged trough their home and destroyed their stuff, what ever it was however it had moved on and it didn't leave a trail. After every room had been investigated Cyborg decided to see what was going on out side, maybe they where under attack. When he stepped out on the roof he saw Raven standing at the edge looking out at the sun set over the ocean. She was alone, no Beast Boy. She didn't look happy, Raven never really looked happy but this was somehow worse then normal. After several seconds of observing her in silence Cyborg spoke up,

"What going on Raven, every thing alright?" But the only answer he got from her was the back of her head and silence. "Um, you seen BB around any where?'

A ventilation duct detonated next to him in a flash of black splinters. He jumped out of the way in time to doge the shrapnel but his heart defiantly skipped a beat. Raven cringed slightly when the sound of the exploding metal cried out, as if she hadn't been expecting her powers to unleash. Cyborg had seen Raven mad before, when he and BB dove into the depths of her subconscious he'd gotten close and personal with Raven's moods, but even then she had control over her power, what ever was wrong with her now was much worse then anger. Raven's power where controlled by emotion, some emotion was causing her to slip on the restrains over her gifts. The question was what, and did it have to with the missing BB or the attack on the Tower. There was twinge of pain in Raven's voice when she spoke,

"Yes Cyborg I have seen Beast Boy... he's gone." Raven never turned to look at him, he couldn't tell but he thought she might have been crying. "Some things had come to light that require my attention, I'm going to have to leave for a while, and I don't know when I'll be back. Tell the others not to worry, please." Emotion and passion poured out in each word that she spoke, Raven never showed any emotion.

"Raven, are you sure you're alright." Cyborg slowly walked toward her.

"No, I don't think I'll be alright for a very long time." Raven grabbed the shoulder of her blue cloak and, in a slow clean movement, ripped it clean off. A pair of large black bird like wings grew from her shoulder blades. Cyborg was forced to take a step back as the large feathered wings expanded out ward. She stood at the edge with her dark wings glistening in the failing light, then with out a look back or a word of goodbye raven leaped from the edge of the tower and flew into the distance.


	7. Truth

Truth

Terra opened her eyes to a world wrapped in darkness, her hands and feet where tied with chains to a cold metal chair that was anchored to the floor. She could hear movement around her, soft whispers, as if someone was talking through glass. Then she realized that the world was black because her vision was blocked, a blind fold had been tied over her eyes. She struggled to break free of her bonds, but they held fast. Terra heard a small snicker from the other side of the room, she looked around in an attempt to see who had giggled but to no avail, the fold was too thick and no light penetrated it. The laugh had come from the opposite wall in front of her, it sounded eerily familiar. An electronic door slip open and foot steps entered the room and the sent of smoldering tobacco flooded the room. There was a pause then the fold was pulled from her eyes.

An old man in a general's uniform stood in front of her, he had frost blue eyes and the wrinkles in his face greatly contrasted the ironed stiffness of his green suit. Half of a Cubin cigar hung to one side of his mouth, the smoke curled up and wreathed his face in a gray light. His hair was white and trimmed neatly, he even wore a tie, but regardless of how he presented himself he still glared down at her with the ferocity of any rabid dog. She saw her twin leaning against the wall beyond the man in the green uniform; she was cleaning her nails with a combat knife. She was the one that had laughed, that's why the snicker sounded so familiar, it was her own. Terra looked around the room. It had blank white walls, two guards stood behind them holding the strange tranquilizer guns, her friends Ann and Torrent sat at either side of her. They where tied to similar chairs and bound by there hands and feet, blind folds where also strapped over their eyes just like she had been. Ann had a strange device covering the gem in the center of her forehead and Torrent had extra chains and locks wrapped around him. He was still smiling as he looked blindly around the room, sniffing the air. Terra looked down at her self and saw that she had specialized restraints as well, a solid lead ball had been latched over her hands to keep her powers in check

The general slowly paced back and forth in front of the imprisoned teens, inspecting each one individually. He wore shinny black leather shoes that made a small scuffing noise on the tile as her walked. Terra saw that Torrent followed the general's movements even though his eyes where covered. When the man in the uniform spoke the cigar bobbed up and down with each word,

"All three, how very convenient, and to think they'd all be so close by, Type B, good work." He glanced behind him at Terra's twin. She looked up from her nails and smiled. "So what to do with ..." He saw Torrent was looking directly at him, smiling. His brow crinkled in thought for a few seconds then he turned to the girl he called 'Type B' and asked,

"Does that thing ever stop smiling?" Type B shrugged,

"It's when he stops smiling that you need to worry." Ann spoke in a kind of, you better watch yourself kind of tone. Raising one eye brow the general walked up to Ann and bent down so he was level with her face.

"Did I say you could speak?!" He slapped her hard across the face. Somehow Torrent distinguished what the general had done, he snarled in anger and trashed forcefully against his bonds. They creaked and bent but held fast. The general stood erect and smiled as he watched the boy struggle.

"Very interesting." He walked from Ann and over to Torrent, when he bent down to look at him, Torrent started viciously snapping at him with his pointy teeth. "You are quite the ketch my little friend. We've been looking for you for a long time, all of you actually." He looked at Terra when he said this.

"Who the hell are you people?" Terra glared back at the old man.

"I am your new owner child, and you will soon learn respect." He walked back to type B's side and turned to face them, "My name is General Hunter, and I've been assigned the responsibility of controlling you freaks. Just as there had always been people with gifts there has always been someone how need to contain them, today that someone is me. We've been looking for the three of you for quite the long while, Terra the wanted criminal, Torrent the one man army, and Ann Filler our key to controlling you all." Ann cringed slightly at the mention of her name, her lip was bleeding. Hunter reached into his pocket and pulled out a small orange disk,

"Up until now we've had to resort to more primitive forms of controlling people like you," Terra gasped as she realized what the disk was. A black S was engraved into its center; it was one of Slade's control disks. Hunter smiled at Terra's horror, "You recognize this don't you, child. We where planning to use it to control you so you could capture Ann and Torrent here for us. You managed to remove it however, even with the pain triggers implanted, but it matters little. You got them for us any how, the tracking devise inserted into your hip attachment allowed us to run you and your friends down, with the help of type B of course." The girl who looked like Terra walked up and stood beside the general. "She might not have the potential power of the original, but she really is quite useful, while you where sleeping I had her destroy several buildings near by, the media is eating it up. They'll be begging me to hunt you down and imprison then rest of your type."

"Take off your coat, type B." the girl instantly obeyed. At first Terra was horror-struck and then she saw the all too familiar orange disk implanted in the center of her chest. Type B wore a white mussel shirt but there was a hole cut to expose the control disk. The metallic coverings that where still latched on Terra where not present on Type B, instead she had the other the accessories Slade bestowed on her that she did not, the elbow attachments, the gloves, the boots, and the horns. Her hair was short and she wore military issue fatigues, but other then that she was Terra's exact twin. "But now that we have you, Torrent, and Ann, we can control who ever we need to, with out needing to attach any hardware." Hunter tapped the devise on Type B's chest with his middle finger. He was smiling almost as broadly as Torrent was only moments before.

"How did you get your hands on Slade's control disks?" Terra almost pounced forward when she spoke, and she would have if her feet weren't restrained.

"Slade's disks? Ha, stupid little girl. Where do you think Slade got his from?" Terra's eyes grew wide, "Where do you think our little pawn Slade got his all funding from, all his technology, his training?"

"Why would the government do such a thing?" Terra was stunned by the unexpected conspiracy.

"Who ever said we where the government?" General Hunters smile widened even more. "There are powers at work here that you can't possibly under stand, little girl. Our organization commands multiple counties and hundreds of smaller factions, but we are not a government of any kind. We are the ones who pull the strings, we control just about everything, everything except you and your kind, the gifted. We're about to change all that, with your help of course. Move them into the operating chamber; I must go great my public." He turned and left the room, followed closely by Type B. Immediately after they stepped through the door it snapped shut.

The two soldiers that Terra had seen before stepped up from behind them and removed Ann's and Torrent's blind folds. Terra laughed,

"Man did you just made a big mistake." Torrent immediately bent over and snapped one of his chains in half with his powerful teeth. He pulled one arm free of his bonds, with his free arm he reached over his head and grasped the guards gun by the barrel, he yanked it free of the mans grasp and pointed it toward the guard standing behind Ann. A burst of fire sent a hail of needles into the guards face. Then flipping the gun around and gripped it by the stock. He swung it like a bat against the final guards scull. Both men hit the ground in unison. Torrent dropped the gun and observed his restraints for several seconds, then grasped the central lock and crushed it in his hand. The chains fell of him as he stood. He saw that both the girls where looking at him in shock, his smiled widened again,

"With one hand tied behind my back." He didn't speak much, so they laughed at his lame joke. He untied Terra and Ann's restraints with little difficulty and removed the strange device from Ann's head.

"I'm sorry." Was the first thing out of Terra's mouth after they where free.

"Oh, it's not your fault! You didn't know... did you?" Ann was trying to be supportive but was failing miserably. Torrent was smiling so Terra guessed that he felt that she was not to blame as well, but then again Torrent was always smiling. "What we need to worry about right now is how to get out of here with out getting noticed. We got to do this cautiously and silentl..." Torrent slammed his fist against the stone wall opposite of the door and it crumpled in to dust and mortar. Both girls looked at him in shock again,

"The walls are sound proof, other wise they would have heard the gun shots and we would have been dead by now." Terra looked at Ann, who shrugged and said,

"I guess he's right, but still the sooner we get out of here the better." Ann walked up to the destroyed wall and looked out on the city. "Hey, who are all those people down there?" Terra followed her and looked down. A large group of people had gathered about fifteen stories down at the entrance of the building. They where massing around a single podium and there where cameras and microphones bunched near its center.

"Who's getting interviewed?" Terra squinted her eyes to try and make out who was the speaker at the center.

"It's Hunter." Torrent brows formed into a scowl but his smile shined even more brightly. Ann looked up at Torrent,

"Are you sur...?" Torrent leapt from the edge and started falling toward the group of people,

"Oh no!" Ann covered her mouth as she watched him fall,

"Um, why did Torrent just commit suicide?" Terra looked even more sunned then Ann,

"The impact probably won't even hurt him, but he's going to try and kill Hunter."

"Is that a bad thing?" Terra failed to see the problem. Ann pointed out in the distance. A Military blockade was surrounding the building,

"Oh Crap! Grab him!" Terra turned to Ann,

"A little late for that don't you think!"

"Not with your hands stupid, with your powers!" Ann looked down at the falling Torrent,

"I don't think I can! I don't have that kind of control!"

"You don't have a choice Ann." Ann nodded slowly, she closed her eyes and the gem in her forehead began to glow, small beads of sweat began to form near her temple as she concentrated. Torrent continued to plummet down toward the sea of people.


	8. Conflict

Conflict

General Hunter stepped through the Front doors of his building out in to the open air. A mob of reporters waited to great him, Type B had done her job better then he had expected. As soon as he stepped up to the podium he was assaulted with hundreds of questions from the writhing mass of lenses and microphones.

"Where is the criminal now, General?"

"What actions are you planning to take?"

Hunter silenced the journalists with a wave of his hand, only when the questions had died away and the only sound that could be heard was the occasional flash from a camera bulb did Hunter begin to speak,

"We have taken the girl into custody, and she will be dealt with accordingly for her actions. We have also come in contact with and captured several of her cohorts, but many others, however, are still at large. Counter measures have been set in motion to apprehend the mounting threat on our fair city. Curtain intelligence has informed us of the severity of our situation, more terrorists like her are among us even now. All those who would threaten our security will be taken down!" He emphasized his point by bringing his fist down on his podium. This action caused a ripple of applause to flow through the crowd,

"So, who are you planning to take down General?" One of the more gutsy reporters stuck her mike under the general's nose. He glared down at the young journalist for several seconds, then removed the cigar from his mouth and answered calmly,

"She has brought many others like her self under her employment. She realized that her first attempt of over taking our home failed because she acted alone. Even now they gather in secret to mount their next attack. We must act immediately and round up the others before they can strike. Until this is done out beautiful city is in constant danger." A gasp resounded from the other reporters, Hunter smiled, they where falling right into his hands. He placed the Cuban back between his lips.

Then the mass of journalists whet quiet, even the camera's bulbs held their tongues. Hunter's smile faded and his brow furrowed, he had not lifted his hand to demand silence, what was going on? Several camera lenses slowly pointed upward, Hunter lifted one eyebrow. He glanced at the two military guards that flanked either side of him, they however made the same expression of confusion on he did. He looked at the reporters again and saw they where all looking skyward, a few where even pointing. He looked up, and Torrent flew down. Hunter saw Torrents eyes for the first time, they where glowing the way a demons eyes should glow, his pointed teeth shined as bright as the sun, and when he struck his motions blurred. Claws raked across Hunters face and blood sprayed the pavement. His cigar fell from his mouth, split in two. The General screamed and covered his face with his hands.

Torrent froze three inches before he hit the ground, his body levitated there long enough to allow the reporters to gasp, and then he was wrenched back the way he came. He flew upward almost as fast and he had fallen, Torrent was just as surprised in his sudden retreat as the people beneath him. At first all he could hear was the air whistling in his ears, and then the chatter of gunfire sounded from beneath him and bullets hummed all about him. The two military body guards sprayed the air around Torrent; he couldn't help but smile even wider at their feeble attempt. Then he reached the girls, who where glaring at him again,

"Happy? You've successfully proved that bastards point!" Ann said was breathing hard and her gem still shined slightly. Torrent smiled widely and looked at Ann, he hugged her so hard her feet lifted from the ground, she squeaked in surprise. Terra smiled and casually answered for him,

"Obviously." She looked down at the people fifteen stories down, the reporters where fleeing for there lives but the military blockade was moving toward the building. "Well we are officially out of time. We got to get out of here now!" Terra started to look around the room frantically, but it was still empty. Ann struggled free of Torrent and said,

"Ok, just rip a big chunk of the wall out and we'll fly away on it."

"I'm being serious Ann! Those military or whatever goons will be here any second!" Terra glanced out the hole in the wall again,

"Um, so was I. Use your powers." Ann crossed her arms as she spoke.

"Oh, Oh Ya!" Terra had gone several months with out using her powers for fear they would get out of control but this was an extreme circumstance, Terra wouldn't mind loosing control, any thing to avoid being used against her friends again. "Stand close to me!"

A glowing aura materialized around Terra, her hands balled into fists, and the ground started to rumble, Ann and Torrent looked at one another then inched closer to Terra. A crack began to break the surface up around them, and the chunk of rock the three teens where standing on ripped free of the rest of the floor. Terra's eyes shone a bright yellow and her fists shook but her powers remained restrained. Just after Terra levitated free of the room the door behind them burst open and soldiers poured in. Terra propelled the chunk of flooring along with herself and her fiends away, bullets flew past them and cracked against the rock. Terra grunted in exertion and pushed their vessel to advance faster, when they where out of range one of the soldiers radioed down to his superior,

"Their gone, no casualties on either side." General Hunter lessened to transmission as he sat at a table next to the medic tent as he got his face wounds tended to. His teeth clinched and he trembled in rage as he saw his three prisoners became a smaller and smaller dot against the blue sky. One of his officers marched up to his side and saluted him,

"Sir, I need to…" Hunter interrupted him by slamming his fist on the wood,

"Shut up you useless good for nothing! I'm trying to think!" Hunter sat in silence for several seconds as his officer stood at attention waiting for his command. Hunter seemed to be deeply contemplating some thing, when he spoke there was a hint of regret in his voice. "Activate Operation Thousand Blades."

"Sir?" It sound as if his officer was about to object but he was cut off again,

"You heard me! Wake him up! I want them dead by the end of the week! Bring me the psychic girl alive, we still need her." After he was done the officer stood unmoving, "What the hell are you waiting for?" Hunter almost lunged at the young soldier,

"Um, sir I need to report that we've captured some thing you might like to see," The young officer stood to one side and two grunts dragged in a young green boy. "We caught this one at the blockade, he charged it. We managed to tranquilize him but he killed several of our men."

"How?" Hunter looked down on the boy doubting the frail teen could kill a fly let alone a full grown soldier. One of the soldiers pulled out a small piece of paper and began to read from it,

"He impaled one with a rhino horn, trampled three as an elephant, and ripped one's arm off as a silverback, and disemboweled two as a tiger, tour four men's jugular veins as a wolf, ripped…"

"I get it privet, very interesting. This must be one of those Titans." Hunter scratched his chin in speculation, "Maybe today will not have been an entire loss, put him in restraints and take him inside. Then call his friends and inform them the notorious criminal Terra is back and she's killed their young green friend. If they don't believe you show them the photos of Type B destroying that high school, and give them this." He handed the officer Beast Boy's belt. The smile came back to Hunters face as his officer ran off to do his bidding. If everything went to plan he might still be able to win this war.


	9. Unspoken

Unspoken

Cyborg watched as Raven's winged form flew away to the west, slowly her black silhouette was absorbed by the setting sun. Her strange new appendages seemed to be fully working, Cyborg had seen Raven's powers do many strange things but wings where definitely a new trick. Her cloak along with her communication device lay on the Towers roof. Its small red light was blinking to indicate an incoming transition. Cyborg bent over and picked the flashing communicator then clicked it on, Robin's voice cracked through,

"Raven where the hell have you been, we could have been under attack! You're lucky this was a false alarm, get back to the commons room and give me a full report, over." Cyborg waited for him to stop speaking then answered the transmission,

"It's me man, Raven's long gone. Somehow she sprouted wings and flew west, she said BB took off too, she didn't say where he went though so your guess is as good as mine." There was a pause then Robin responded,

"I think I have an idea where he is." Cyborg heard Starfire crying in the back ground, "I don't want to tell you over the radio. Come to the commons room and we'll explain what happened, over and out." The light stopped blinking and the com clicked off. After starring at the setting sun for several more moments, Cyborg turned away and ran back into the tower.

Thousands of questions assaulted his mind as he ran though the dark hallways, but no answers echoed in response. His mechanical legs cranked faster and faster, he kept trying to keep his mind off the possibility that something might have happened to Beast Boy. His one true friend in the whole world might be gone, the gears and wires worked feverishly as he dashed down a stair well. Raven might have known, she was psychic after all, that could have been why her powers had been going all haywire. Cyborg shook his head, he couldn't assume that BB was dead, he might still be ok, and there still might still be a chance. When Cyborg stepped through the door leading into the commons room all hope he had retained slipped through his fingers. Starfire was sobbing uncontrollably in the corner, Robin was trying to comfort her but he couldn't think of any thing that would ease her mourning. Projected on the giant screen he and Beast Boy had spent so many happy hours images flashed. His belt, splashed with blood. His torn clothing, ripped to shreds. Then his body, Cyborg wanted to look away but his eyes where locked on the screen in horror. It seemed impossible that earlier that day BB had sat on this couch and looked at the television that would display his own death. Then it showed Terra, she looked different, short hair, different clothing, but it was unmistakably her. A building was imploding on itself behind her. She was smiling. Photos of collapsing buildings flashed in sequence, photos of people running in fright from the rampaging Terra. Cyborg's tearing eyes curled into a glare.

Then a face of an old man appeared on the display, he had four large bleeding cuts running parallel to one another across his face. His cold blue eyes glared down at Robin when he spoke,

"Long time no see. I'm sorry to have to be the one to deliver this news to you Robin, but I'm afraid I was one of the few that where present when Terra attacked. She's killed several of my men and numerous civilians, including your friend the Beast Boy. We tried to stop her but…" Hunter pointed to the scratches across his face, "She has accomplices this time, and they're just as deadly as she is."

"Does this have any thing to do with Slade?' Robin thought first of his arch enemy as always.

"No, her attacks where sporadic and uncalculated, just mindless destruction, Slade was always precise in his strikes." Robin almost seemed disappointed

"I though that Terra had joined our side." Starfire managed to speak through her tears, but not without extreme difficulty

"I though Terra was dead." Cyborg was still in shock, and he seemed to be speaking to no one.

"Both assumptions that have been proven false, she's now fleeing West with her partners in crime, I suggest you run her down before she is successful in escaping."

"Hay man just who the hell are you." Cyborg's shock quickly turned to rage, he didn't know this guy and he had ordering then around. Truthfully Cyborg would have welcomed a fight or a chance to take out his rage on any thing, right now he had Hunter to yell at.

"His name's Hunter, he's a general in the US marines. He helped in the funding and creation of Titan's Tower. But that was the last I ever saw of him, what are you doing back in town Hunter?" Robin was the most in control of his emotions, but then again Beast Boy and him had always been acquaintances, never friends.

"Lets just say I came to do some weapons testing. This new turn of events however has redirected my attention to the safety of this cities people. My men have taken many casualties and are busy helping survivors. So I need you to take Terra down, I'm calling in a favor Titans." Robin looked back at Cyborg. His metallic fist quivered in rage and his red eye burned in a glare. Robin turned back to the screen,

"We except, we'll bring her to her knees." Robin pushed a button and cut the transition. He put out his hand and helped Starfire to her feet,

"Ready Star?" She didn't, even turn to look at him. Her irises burned bright green. The tears hissed away as the intense heat evaporated them.

"I am ready, let us go." Green flames licked the outer edges of her eyes, Robin nodded.


	10. Clash

Clash

Terra landed her rock in a clearing of trees, several miles from the city limits. When the rock dropped from her control Terra hit her knees, her powers where still returning. The memories of the pain and suffering her powers had brought down on her friends caused Terra had pledged to never manipulate the earth again. Loosing control this at this stage in the game could cause an earth quake large enough to destroy the city. That promise had assured that her abilities remained in its fledgling state. It now took even more concentration to keep her power restrained. The expenditure of energy had drained her. Terra felt in even less control of her abilities then when she first met the titans. Ann crouched next to her and asked,

"You doin' ok there hun? You look tired." Terra waved her away as she flopped down on her back and sprawled out on the granite slab. Her chest rose and fell as she rapidly breathed in and out. She looked even more drained then Ann had when she pulled Torrent from the mob of militia. Torrent looked down at her smiling. He hunched over and grasped a small piece of metal attached to Terra's hip, there was a pause then Torrent ripped the piece clean off. Surprisingly there was no agonizing pain like the last time Terra had removed a chunk of her artificial body parts. Torrent crushed the tracking devise in his hand then smiled back down at the stunned Terra. She was thinking to her self that she would never get used to that crazy smile of his, when suddenly the expression on Torrent's face changed. His smile didn't fade but his eyes did make a concerned look, and he glanced behind him, then he looked back down at Terra,

"Three people are approaching, ten miles away; they'll be here in eight minutes." Short and to the point, Torrent never was all that much of a speaker. He turned and began to walk toward the trees.

"Wait, how can you possibly know that?" Terra stood surprisingly quickly when she spoke, considering her weakened state. Torrent half turned and pointed at his ears, and grinned ever wider.

"Just trust him, ok. He's never been wrong." Ann started to follow him, "Who do you think it could be?" Terra's eyes furrowed in worry,

"I know exactly who it is, but where are the other two?" Terra looked east,

"It's your Titan friends isn't it?"

"Most of them, it couldn't really be any one else."

"Who ever it is I don't want to risk another capture, we might not get so lucky and escape next time." Ann grabbed Terra's arm and lead her toward Torrent who was waiting at the tree line.

The hill the three fugitives where forced to climb was incredibly steep, rocks slipped under foot and hand holds broke free as they scaled the cliff. Torrent pushed ahead of the other two, Ann and Terra managed to keep up, but not with considerable difficulty. When they reached the summit, however, Torrent stopped and turned to help the girls up. Once they had crested the hell they turned east and began to run. They ran past trees, lakes, gigantic rock upheavals, animals, for several hours they ran. The three teens where in exceptional shape, being forced to fend for your self for the majority of your life will do that, so the long run didn't really affect them much. Terra, in fact, was beginning to recover from her fatigue caused by her power exertion. They ran in to a large stone gorge that had been carved from the mountain by a river that had once flowed through the rocks. They stopped and looked back behind them,

"You hear anyone following us Torrent?" Terra was panting slightly still but not nearly as bad as before. Torrent didn't answer. He was sporadically glancing around him sniffing the air. Torrent looked at Ann expecting an explanation, Ann shrugged. They where silent for a long time, listening for any sound from their pursuers, the girls heard nothing but Torrent's eyes fixed on the mouth of the crevice they where hiding in. Terra and Ann turned and saw three shadows standing at the mouth of the crevice. Their black silhouettes contrasted the red sky behind them. Terra immediately recognized all three, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg. The first thing that flashed through her mind was Beast Boy, millions of scenarios where projected in her mind that would have explained his absence, none of which concluded well. Terra panicked and began to glance around her speedily in search of her green love, but he did not appear. Next she realized that Raven was also not present, she was shocked, and Terra had thought that Raven would have jumped at the chance to confront her. Then Ann whispered a question in her ear,

"Um, are those the people you where talking about?" She sounded surprisingly calm. The fact that their pursuers had caught them didn't seem to bother her very much.

"Yes, the big one's Cyborg, the floating one is Starfire and the one in front is Robin." Terra looked back at the Titans, they where still just standing, waiting. Ann whispered another question,

"Man, why do they dress like that?" Terra glared at Ann then turned to call out to the motionless Titans.

"Where's Beast Boy?" A twinge of pain managed to escape her lips as she spoke.

The Titans didn't even look at one another, the moment Terra finished speaking they flung forward screaming at the top of their lungs. Robin hurled three explosive disks, Star flung her green bolts, and Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, all at Terra. She gasped and sheltered her face with her arms in an attempt to block the appending impacts. Moments ticked past and nothing came, so Terra timidly peeked over her defense. Robin's disks, Starfire's bolts and Cyborg's beam hung in mid air unmoving. Next to Terra, Ann's eyes and crystal gleamed white. Her powers had frozen the projectiles just before they had inflicted their destruction. The Titans seemed shocked, then Ann raised her hand, the missiles twisted to face their masters, then Ann set them loose. Robin dove forward, Star flew upward, but Cyborg didn't react quickly enough and caught all three detonations directly in the center of his chest. He was flung backward out of the crevice, pasted the trees and over the cliff.

Star flew downward at Ann screaming in; each of their eyes blazed in furry, one green the other white. Sweat was already forming on Ann's brow, she had never used her power in combat before and the image of the shrieking warrior that now charged down at her drove fear into her heart. She looked around her but Torrent was no where to be seen, and Starfire was closing in. The distance between the two girls was closing astonishingly fast. Just as Star raised her fist to strike, Ann raised her hands in defense. A detonation rang thought the stone valley, and Star was sent skyward with smoke trailing behind her. Ann fell to her knees and fainted from the lack of energy left in her body.

Robin stood and wiped the dust from his shirt. His dive had allowed him to successfully avoid the explosion, unlike poor Cyborg. Then he saw Terra standing a few feet in front of him, she still had the look of surprise on her face, she hadn't even tried to run away. Robin lunged at her with his hand outstretched preparing to knock her down. Torrent hit him from the side, in a burry movement he grasped Robin by the neck and slammed him down against the hard stone ground. Air was knocked out of Robins lungs and his vision blurred when his head cracked hard against a stone. The world spun and he lay motionless for several seconds, but when his eyes cleared and the environment steadied he saw Torrent standing over him. Torrent smiled happily down at his dazed opponent, Robin though of the teeth of a wolf as he starred up at Torrent's gleaming grin. Then in a quick smooth movement Robin grasped a flash grenade from his belt and flung it up in Torrents face. Robin closed his eyes but Torrent caught the full blast at pointblank range. He screamed and grasped his eyes, even staggered back a few steps. Robin flipped back on his feet and drew his staff. He glanced at Terra who was backing away from the two fighters. He would deal with her after he dealt with this crazed half blind wild boy, when Robin looked back at Torrent however he saw that Torrent was already shaking off the effects of the flash-bang. This unexpected speedy recovery shocked Robin, but it did not shock him enough to cause him to hesitate. He brought his staff down across Torrents face with all the strength he could muster. The force shattered his pole in two. Flinging the ruined weapon aside Robin set on Torrent with his bare hands, just as the wild boy looked up Robin struck him across the jaw with a right hook, then a left to the solar plex and another right to Torrents temple. A barrage of kicks pummeled in to Torrents right side, Robin laid every thing he had in to him. With mind-blowing speed kicks and punches where dealt out. Terra stepped forward and screamed out for Robin to stop. Robin paused only long enough for Torrent to hit the ground. Then he turned and smiled at Terra, she immediately froze. Terra saw the glee in that smile, and it was a million times worse then Torrents crazed grin. Then she gasped as Torrent slowly stood.

Robin saw the look in Terra's face change as she looked past him. He turned and saw his battered opponent standing behind him, Torrent swayed slightly as if he could barely stand, and he was bruised and bleeding. Regardless of his injuries Torrent was still grinning, Robin's smile twisted into a snarl he drew a new staff from his belt and lunged once more at Torrent. Robin brought the staff down to strike Torrent across the face as before, but unlike before Torrent casualty stepped to one side and let the pole miss its target. Before Robin even realized that his attack didn't make contact with its mark, he was struck with Torrent's elbow across the face. The staff flew from his hands and Robin staggered backward. Torrent grasped the Staff mid air, and smiled as he looked up at his attacker. Blood streamed though his hands as Robin held his shattered nose, such a strong blow so quickly from a weakened opponent was very unexpected, but Robin wasn't planning on making any more mistakes. Robin glared back at Torrent the flicked his hand clean, blood splattered against the rocks. He reached for another staff but found his belt empty, so he grasped another flash-bang and flung it at Torrent. Robin covered his eyes just as the explosive detonated. Smiling to himself again he dropped his hands from his eyes. Torrent struck his across the face with his staff, the blow knocked Robin off hit feet and he hit the ground on his back again. Torrent had dashed forward just as Robin threw the flash-bang so the bright light had ignited behind him. This time Robin didn't stay on the ground, Torrent threw rod aside and grasped Robin by the collar and lifted his to his feet. A right hook struck Robin in the jaw, then a left to the solar plex and a right aganst Robin's temple. Torrent then delivered numerous kicks to Robins right side. Torrent unleashed an exact copy of the beating he had received from Robin with shocking precision. Down to the placement of every punch and the force in every kick, the techniques Robin had spent a lifetime to learn and perfect had been passed on to Torrent in a space of a few seconds. Robin fell for the third and final time.

Torrent turned from Robin and smiled at Terra. His smile faded until it was _almost_ undistinguishable when he saw Ann lying on the ground behind Terra. He was covered in bruises and small cuts, and he limped as he began to stagger over to the unconscious Ann. Then a blast of blue energy caught him in between the shoulder blades, the force brought him to his knees. Torrent turned to face his new opponent but was stuck with a hail of green energy bolts. The resulting explosion sent Torrent sprawling. He landed in a motionless heap at Terra's feet.

Cyborg and Starfire entered the crevice once again. Terra bent over and checked Torrents pulse, strong but slow. The two remaining Titans stopped when they where directly in front of the kneeling Terra. Cyborg had a large section of his armor missing, enough so that you could see the internals of his mechanical body. Star's entire front side was charred black. Cyborg spoke first,

"Why'd you do it Terra? Why?" Pain poured from every word,

"You attacked us! What I did to you all those years ago was wrong but I was going to leave you alone, Hunter…"

"Shut up, you speak the lies!" Terra had never seen Starfire so angry before, "You shall pay for your killing!" She flew down to Robin's side and felt his face.

"That's enough talk, your going down Terra." Cyborg lifted his sonic cannon. Terra stood, starring defiantly up at Cyborg as he loomed over her,

"Do you really think that's going work?" Terra glared back down the barrel.

"Why shouldn't it, I've taken out criminal's like you before with this baby." he didn't smile.

"Look where you are." Terra's hands began to glow and her eyes gleamed bright yellow, the walls of the stone valley rumbled deeply, smaller rocks came loose and tumbled down, "Is there any doubt in your mind that I could have crushed you at any second?" Cyborg and Starfire looked around with a new dawning sense of horror, the sonic cannon slowly dropped until it faced the ground.

"Why have you not then?" Star stood from Robin's side

"I'm not evil no matter how much you think I am. Their was one you who used to believe that… where's Beast Boy." Shock showed on both the Titans faces, and then Cyborg glared back at her,

"Don't play stupid Terra, I don't care if you crush my body. I will get revenge no matter how many bodies I have to go through." The glow faded from Terra's hands,

"Revenge? Where is Beast Boy!" panic rose in her voice, Star's face seemed to soften as she realized that Terra really did not know. Her hand touched Cyborg's shoulder, he looked at her and calmed slightly. Star paused as if to consider, then she spoke.

"Beast Boy is dead Terra… you killed him."


	11. Pain

Pain

Grief beset Terra. A misery enveloped Terra that was so unbearable that she fell to her knees. Such a force of regret was insufferable and Terra broke under its weight. The strength visibly drained from her body. Starfire's words had cut so deep that it seemed to have pierced her soul. Tears flowed down her emotionless face. They trickled down the cold metallic plate that was her chest then fell in to the dark soil. So many lives had ended because of her, but they had all been bearable, because Beast Boy had always believed in her… loved her in spite of her sins. But now he was gone, and Terra fell apart. The world of rock, dust and shadows around her fell away leaving Terra empty and alone. She sat on the cold earth, curled her knees into her chest and shivered at the bitterness of existence.

Cyborg and Star could only watch. They had felt pain for the death of their friend but the morning exhibited by the brokenhearted girl who writhed before them shattered their understandings of the word pain. They could not look away from the crying young Terra, nothing of evil or wickedness could be seen in her, only anguish. The thoughts of revenge melted from their minds, and regret filled its place. Cyborg started to speak but the air that escaped his lips carried no words. When Starfire spoke her words where so soft they barely existed,

"Terra, we are sorry we thought you…" Star could not finish the agonizing statement; she stopped and looked down at her feet.

"No," Terra's voice was as cold and empty as her heart felt, "it _was_ me. It was another… me." Terra slowly and simply started to explain Hunter and Type B, then she stopped, "What does it matter, none of it matters any more. I did kill him, if I had never come into his life he would have stayed alive and happy, nothing can change that fact." Terra hid her face between her knees. They sat within the rock chasm unmoving, the conscious and unconscious alike. When the echoes died away, the gorge was filled with silence. None of them moved, Cyborg stood, Star floated quietly and Terra sat on the cold stone crying. Then a voice from above them broke the stillness.

"I think they disserve to hear the story Terra. It affects them too you know." The three teens looked up. A strange young girl sat of the ledge above with her legs dangling over the edge. She was dressed in a strange looking jester suit and she was smiling. "So why not finish the tale. Tell of how Hunter had planned to use Ann to control people like us. Tell of how they used your clone to destroy a large part of the city turn the public against all our kind. Tell them Terra, because Hunter won't stop, and he will accomplish his goal unless we stop him." Terra glared up at the smiling jester,

"Wait, what was that?" Cyborg suddenly regained his ability to speak

"You two have no idea what I'm talking about of coarse. How could you, your just the same as the countless others who have no clue about the horrific fate that awaits them. That's why you trusted Hunter in the first place, when he sent you to kill Terra." Cyborg looked away in shame when Terra tried to make eye contact with him. The jester continued, "He's already got another assassin lined up to take you out, so you best listen if you expect to survive." The joker slipped from her perch and floated softly to the ground.

"Who are you?" Star was obviously confused,

"My friends call me Alice, but you kids can call me Sparks. I'm here to tell you what you don't know about this sorry state of affairs, you guys are sourly under informed on the mess you've managed to get yourselves in." She walked over and sat crossed legged on a large stone next to the edge of the gorge. "But first we need a fire, it's getting dark."

Sparks snapped her fingers and a small glowing ember appeared in the air, it floated down on to a small pile of foliage and ignited. The fire burned bright enough to illuminate the dark cavern, the sun was sinking in the west and the sun light was all but gone. Sparks smirked to her self and tuned to Cyborg,

"Big guy, go gather up your palls, they'll be regaining consciousness here in a sec and they'll need to hear this." Cyborg stood,

"You never really answered Star's question. Who the hell are you? For all we know you could be the other assassin." Terra glared up at Sparks through the fire.

"Terra makes a good point, how the hell do you know this Hunter guy?" Cyborg set Robin, Ann and Torrent gently to the ground as he spoke.

"Well, if I was working for General Hunter, then why would I tell you all about his secrets? As for how I know them, you guys aren't the only ones with powers you know. I'm a mystic, I can see what's going on in other parts of the world, but my visions are usually limited to the only most important events." Alice thought for several more moments then said, "So, I guess you're just going to have to trust me. I really don't have much time, so we should get started."

Cyborg and Starfire sat on either side of Terra, and Sparks started her story.

"Hunter was, and still is a general in the US Marines. He started in the lower ranks and worked his way up with surprising speed. That's when the organization that's trying to kill or control all of us took notice of him. They have an agent in almost every government around the world, but they never miss a chance to get another informant. Hunter has always had a deep seeded hatred for the gifted, something involving a death in the family. When the organization offered him a chance to control our kind in a world wide scale, he couldn't resist.

"Using the resources available to him and with the organization backing him up, Hunter began a project to create a super soldier, for the war he was planning to start. That's when he came upon Torrent over there. Hunter wanted to use his accelerated learning abilities, but Torrent slipped through his fingers. After spending considerable time and money looking for him he moved on. Next he attempted to gain access to the Teen Titans and their abilities, through Slade. I'm still not sure if Slade was working for him, or he was just being controlled. The first that Slade set out for was Robin, but Robin failed to be controlled just as Torrent had. Hunter realized that he couldn't subdue the gifted in to joining his side, so Hunter created the control disk, but Torrent was long gone and the Titans where obviously to strong to be assaulted directly.

"This is where you came in Terra, your path happens to lead you across the Titan and Hunter's agent, Slade. You joined the Titans and met Beast Boy. You stayed here instead of moving on in spite of your best instincts. But then you slipped from grace, didn't you. Slade gained your trust and turned you against the Titans, and for a while Hunters plan worked, you found the Titans weaknesses and you gave them to Hunter. Then Beast Boy almost changed your mind. Beast Boy stopped you from completely destroying the Titans. This scared Slade into taking the more direct and drastic approach of complete involuntary servitude. To Hunter's delight the control disk worked perfectly, but Beast Boy foiled Slade attempt of control yet again. Terra sacrificed her self to save the city she was meant to destroy. But you didn't die Terra."

Terra looked up in surprise, "What do you mean."

"I mean you're not a clone Terra, or at least I don't think you are. Hunter can't create a perfect clone yet, his breakthroughs in genetics are impressive but not flawless. You where frozen in a prison of rock for a long time, until Hunter found and revived you. That doesn't mean that you're the original Terra however. Somehow he split you right down the middle… good and evil to put it bluntly. Type B is the other side of you, that evil that's always been hiding within you." Alice stopped and starred down at Terra waiting for her to respond, and after several moments she did.

"So, I was evil…. or at least half evil. Deep down did I really want to do those horrible things… even to Beast Boy?" Terra looked up at Alice,

"Not all of them, your entire being cared for Beast Boy, so in theory Type B must love him too… that is if you really did love him. If that is the case, then I don't think that Beast Boy is dead." A gleam of hope appeared in the eyes of Spark's listeners. Any chance, however slight, that BB might still be alive gave hope.

"But why would he capture our Beast Boy? Hunter hates our kind." Star lifted from the ground and floated closer to Alice as she asked her question.

"Hunter has nothing against controlling and using us though. In Fact he'd rather use the gifted to fight the gifted, rather then use normal humans. He might be crazy but he's not stupid, and he's got the organization backing him. You shouldn't worry Starfire, your not one of us, you're an alien, Cyborg is a robot and Robin is just a normal human, none of you are in any danger here. We on the other hand need to find Beast Boy, but I'm afraid that in that I can not help you."

"Ok, then what do you suppose we do?" Terra was getting frustrated at Alice's vague expressions,

"Hell if I know, my power is in the present not the future, I just came to let you know what kind of deep shit your in. You've got decipher a way to get out of it. I've been running from Hunter almost as long as Torrent has, the sooner you take him out the better. When I get another vision you'll see me again, I'll see you around." Sparks stood and started walking toward the exit of the gorge.

"Wait your just taking off, why don't you help us!" Terra's yell echoed violently against the stone walls.

"Help you? What do you think I just did? Now you know what you're dealing with. As for fighting, that's never been my thing, I just tell people things. Catch you latter." Alice jumped in to the air and floated away.

Cyborg and Star went home to there tower with Robin, and Terra was left alone, Ann and Torrent where still unconscious from their fight with the Titans. The strange jester's predictions had left her a good many things to occupy her mind, the hope of Beast Boy being alive gave her a little strength but it was still just a hope. The prospect of being the better half of her former self seemed doubtful to her. Terra sat next to the fire rapped in her thoughts until Ann awoke. Ann sat up rubbing her eyes as if she had just been sleeping,

"Yawn! Whew, what happened?" Ann had that 'just woke up' look in her eyes.

"Well, the Titans are gone, they went home." Terra didn't look at the awakening Ann when she spoke, she just starred in to the flames thinking,

"Oh… did we win." Ann started to rub the sleep from the corner of her eyes,

"Um, I don't think either of us won. We just got kind of got interrupted." Terra told Ann about the strange jester named Alice and of her account about Hunter. Ann seemed interested at first but her attention broke when she saw Torrent lying next to the fire all cut up. She cried out and ran over to his side,

"Jesus, what did they do to him?" Ann began to inspect Torrent for injuries.

"Well he kind of took on all three Titans, he got their leader."

"I thought you said their where five of these guys."

"Yea, I don't know where Raven is, but Beast Boy…" Terra couldn't finish, because she didn't really know how to.

"Something happened to him didn't it?" Ann either used her physic abilities or she just saw it in the expression on Terra's face, but Ann knew that Beast Boy was dead. "Oh God, I'm sorry Terra, what happened."

"The jester said that Hunter might just have imprisoned him so he could use his abilities, but she was just guessing." The two girls starred in to the fire in silence. Then Torrent groaned and sat up.

"You're awake!" Ann leapt on top of Torrent embracing him tightly. She squeezed him hard enough for the air to get pushed from his lungs. He grunted slightly but smiled down at her none the less.

"You took quite the beating there Torrent, are you ok?" Terra managed a small smile. He turned to her and gave the thumbs up. "Well, we should get moving, can you walk Torrent?" He nodded and stood. They walked this time instead of traveling on a flying hunk of granite, they continued moving west away from the city, once again Terra tried to leave her problems behind, and as before it would not work.


	12. Blades

Blades

Miles away, beyond the mountains and through the desert another cloning vat was being prepared to be opened. A cloning vat similar to the one that Terra was awaken from, but regardless of how similar they looked they where different, this vat had _genetic manufacture tube_ etched in large red letters across one of its metallic sides. Dozens of scientists collected around the strange devise, and the young boy inside. His name was Jonathan Griffin, but the scientists had nick-named his Splice. John had been in a tube almost his whole life, taken from his mother when he was still unborn, taken by the organization. Other children had been used, but the foreign DNA fused in to their bodies destroyed them. Splice was the only one who survived. Animal DNA, Tamaranian DNA, mutated DNA. Any type of genetic code that would help the scientists achieve their goal of creating a perfect soldier was fussed in to him.

His body had become deformed as a side effect of the unfamiliar additions in to his genetic code. Sharp black spines ran down his length of his spine, extensions of the darkened bone hidden beneath his skin, John's lower jaw and teeth where enlarged and malformed to a point beyond recognition, and his eyes where a solid black with no visible iris at their center. The mutation gave him powerful abilities, Splice could detect any type of EM wave with his eyes, AM, FM, TV, Micro, Radar, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, X-ray, even Gamma. Military fighting tactics where artificially placed into his brain along with all the necessary survival knowledge he would ever need. But their greatest accomplishment was his damage resistance; his entire skeletal structure along with several points on his organic body had been mutated into a black and lifeless hardened form. His body had reached a point that even bullets could not penetrate his skin. The scientist where feverishly working around the sleeping Splice, John's creators where preparing for their benefactor to arrive, they where waiting for Hunter.

General Hunter was on a small personal jet, his face was heavily bandaged and he could be heard occasionally cursing in pain under his breath. He sipped at a gin and tonic as he sat alone in the large passenger compartment. To Hunter even the short four hour flight seemed like an eternity, every second brought another twinge of pain. Hunter watched the clouds beyond his window with indifference, he very much doubted that the Titans would be successful in the destruction of Terra or her friends, but he never passed up the chance to have his enemies kill each other off. The best he could hope for would be a casualty or two on one of the sides. The wounds on his face constantly sent shots of agony down his spine, and every time the pain came the image of Torrent descending down upon him found it's was into Hunters mind. Anger welled up in him and he swept the glass of alcohol from the table with the back of his hand shattering it against the wall, he reached up and clicked on a small communicator above him,

"Pilot! How close are we to the lab?" A cattery mechanical voice responded,

"We're just setting down now Sir."

"Excellent." He could barely contain his excitement. This day had been years in the making. His construction of the perfect assassin had taken thousands of dollars and years of labor. The wheels of the air plane screeched as they struck the asphalt of the runway. When Hunter stepped out of the plane and on to the off ramp he was greeted by three scientists. One stepped forward to address the general directly.

"Greetings General, my name is Dr. Spencer If you'll follow me Sir, we'll start the presentation." He extended his hand and gestured for Hunter to walk toward the lab at the end of the small runway.

The lab was implanted into a cliff side and the desert that surrounded it was silent and lifeless. This kind of libratory the third of its kind in the world, one here, one in the tundra of the northern Rock Mountains, and one on the coast near an old abandoned fair ground. The four men approached the hanger size entrance door, several cameras with small glowing green lights that clicked on and followed the men as they advanced. The scientist that had addressed Hunter walked up to a control box to one side of the door, a four digit code was typed in and he scanned his retina in front of a small lens. Instantly after the scan was complete the door began to open. As Hunter passed through the arch way he noticed just how reinforced the door was, the door itself was five feet of solid metal, no gaps. Inside the facility there where dozens of armed guards and cameras every twenty feet, Hunter turned to Dr. Spencer,

"Why all the security, this is a secret location, no one should be able to find this place in order to attack it."

"Oh, it's not for if we are attacked sir. It's for if what we're creating gets out." The Spencer stepped into an elevator at the end of the hall and waited for Hunter to join him. The other scientist waited outside. The general smiled, he could tell that he was going to be pleased in their results. He stepped in and the elevator doors closed.

"Um… if you do not mind me asking, dear general, what happened to you face?" Dr. Spencer was obviously timid about asking Hunter about his injury but the curiosity had been strong enough to overpower that lack of courage.

"I do mind Scientist, and if I where you I would not ask again." The scientist nodded quickly, the rest of the elevator ride was traveled in silence.

When the metallic doors slid open again they reviled a room with blank walls, a man stood next to a projector at it's center and two chairs where placed at either side of him. He motioned for the scientist and Hunter to take their seats. Hunter spoke to the man at the projector as he entered the room,

"What is this all about? I don't have a lot of time to spare." but Hunter sat in his chair in spite of his objection.

"I assure you Mr. Hunter this is of the utmost necessity, if you do not understand the weapon we are about to give to you, the repercussions could be significantly costly. Shall I begin?" He brought a remote from his pocket and killed the lights in the room with a click of a button. Next, he switched on the projector, a large picture of an unborn fetus appeared on the blank wall.

"We need an unstable Genetic code in order to tamper with its structure. The human's undeveloped stage was the best choice, the subjects where selected from several facilities from around the country. We started out with about a thousand possible candidates." He flipped the screen to show a photo of an entire storage house filled with small green vials containing small unborn children. "The first alteration we attempted was the instantaneous teleportation ability you suggested, the experiment was a complete failure, more then half of our subjects died within several hours. The ones that survived showed no sigh of the acquiring the ability. We did find latter that this alteration to their code did increased the subject's reaction time in the combat simulators. The survivors however where also altered in physical appearance." The picture on the wall changed again to a photo of the altered fetus, there was a line of white spikes protruding from the skin that ran down the length of its spinal cord. "Next was the advanced vision modification, this was a complete success, only three candidates lost their eyes and had to be terminated. All the subjects could now detect any kind of EM spectrum wave." The projector clicked and the fetus was shone again with large black eyes in place of the squinted lids that where once there. "The hardened organic material that you purposed was not as lofty of a success, over the next two years four hundred of our subjects died from complications that arose from the solidification. The fifty fetuses that where left alive only had several points in their body that accepted the organic solidification, twenty of the survivors had inner organs hardened and had to be terminated." The nest photo showed several subjects that had strange black designs placed across their body in various places. "The artificial memory transplants work well, only a few subjects died. The Terra DNA you sent us was tried on ten of the twenty five subjects left. All ten died. The majority of the last fifteen where frozen to keep them from growing out of their fetal stage. The ones we allowed to grow died because of complications in the ageing process, the hormonal problems were fixed and five of the ten left where unfrozen to test if the experiment worked." The projector clicked again and showed a small young girl in a test tube. "Once they where awoken they either had a psychotic breakdown or turned against us. So we killed the five subjects that we had awoken. We realized that complete control over our creations was absolutely necessary. In the frozen five we implanted a smaller version of your control disks. Three did not survive the procedure and died. We allowed one to age in suspended animation as he slept in his tube and awoke the other. The girl did well; she excelled in all tests and proved to be very efficient in battle." The photo showed a girl destroying a large robotic solder. "The disk worked, she obeyed all of our commands, but her emotions got in the way, we attempted to remove them by an extension of the control disk but the operation killed her. We tried a similar surgical treatment on the frozen subject, we failed in our attempt but he survived. So we expanded the power of the control disk so control his emotions. This solution is expected to be a success." The man clicked the projector off and turned the lights on.

"Very good," Hunter stood and cracked his neck, "may I go see him now."

"Yes you may," The Dr. Spencer stood "If you'll follow me." He walked up to the wall that the images had been projected on. He placed his hand on the wall, a line of light scanned his prints then a piece of the wall pushed in and opened to reveal a door way. The scientist stepped through followed closely by Hunter.

The two men walked down a stairway and into a long metallic hallway, the florescent lights hummed softly over head. Neither of the men talked as they strode down the long hall, the general's shoes striking the ground and the scientists coat swishing as he swung his arms where the only sounds the echoed down the empty hallway. The doors they passed on their left and right had no light or sound issuing from them, only the one door at the apex of the hall had light gleaming outward from every side. When they reached the door, it slid open, no codes, no scans, no locks.

Directly opposite of the door was the tube containing John, it sat away from the other scientific equipment, though there where dozens of wires leading from to the other machines to keep tabs on the boy inside. John was there, sleeping his dreamless sleep, oblivious to the world around him. The scientists each held a glass of champagne and where wearing white lab coats. The bits of small talk that had been taking place died away when Hunter stepped into the room. He glanced around briefly then withdrew a single metallic cylinder from his pocket, he popped its lid off and pulled a cigar from the container with his teeth, he held the role of expensive tobacco with out lighting it in his mouth for several seconds as he studied the silent collection of men in lab coats and the equipment around them. After he was satisfied with his observations he struck a match with his thumb and puffed his Cuban until the tip glowed red. He shook the flaming match out as he began to speak,

"So, this is the boy." A long intake of smoke, "He doesn't look like much. When are we going to thaw him out?"

"Immediately, that is if you are ready dear General." Dr, Spencer seemed to be the only one of the other men with the ability to speak, he also seemed to be the leader of the scientist for how the others let him talk for them. Hunter nodded slightly and held the cigar between clinched teeth. As if on queue every scientist walked briskly to one end of the room, this area was void of all equipment save a large screen and a small control panel. The scientist coward away as Hunter walked over to join them; he stood alone in front of the screen as the rest crammed in to the corners. The lead scientist, Dr. Spencer, stepped up to the control panel, he pressed a series of buttons then the sound of mechanical parts began to rumble from every direction. The general looked around in amusement. Two plates of metal began to descend from the ceiling, one to shield the machinery on one side of the room from view and the other to hide the scientists and Hunter at the other. When both walls had completely set down, the lead scientist produced a small key from his pocket, he clicked it into a small slot and looked at Hunter.

"Will he be able to see us? Shouldn't his eye enhancements be able to detect us?"

"No sir, these walls are customized for just this occasion, they consist of solid lead, not even he can detect us."

"Very good, proceed then." Hunter smirked and puffed smoke from his nostrils.

The key was turn, and the screen in front of Hunter clicked on, there was a slight hissing noise and the lid on the cloning vat snapped open.


	13. Reborn

Reborn

Splice open his eyes for the first time, the world in front of him was twisting and churning sickeningly, then he sat up and the water fell away from his eyes. The world became sane and he felt the air on his skin for the first time. There where strange sensors attached to him, he pulled them off and stepped from the strange devise he had awoken from. The room he found him self in was empty, metallic walls, metallic floors, metallic ceiling. Then he saw something, a small red blur in the corner of the room, John stumbled over to the heat source he had detected with his eyes. A small camera looked down at him, a small green light shone like an eye. Splice studied this strange devise for a few moments until he sensed another heat source, it was coming from beyond the only door leading out of the room.

The door was automatic so it slid open as he approached. A long hallway with walls, floor and ceiling similarly metallic as the room he had come from. No light came from any of the doors lining the hall, so he passed by them without a second glance. The cold hallway glowed white through his black eyes, no energy radiated from those lifeless walls but just beyond a door down the hall a small bit of heat glowed. Splice walked briskly forward to investigate the next room. The door was non-electronic so John pushed it open with his the palm of his hand. The projector hummed softly, heat rising from its motor shone like a pale red through his eyes. As Splice walked into the room he saw a strange photo on the wall, it was of a young girl, she had long blond hair and blue eyes, strange metallic plates covered the upper and lower section of her body, she was pretty. John stopped and starred at the picture, almost immediately a sharp pain seemed to drive its self directly into John's brain. The agony was the equivalent of someone hammering a wedge into your cranium and prying the skull apart. When Splice screamed it sounded inhuman, his deformed lower jaw bone and teeth caused any noise he made to be changed and distorted. Thousands of images flashed into his mind, images of the Titans, images of Torrent, Ann, and of Terra, then one of Hunter. Not memories but knowledge flowed with the images, knowledge of the world around him. First the basic truths, the same information a high schooled boy might receive. Next came the fighting skills, knowledge of tactical along with combat training, hundreds of forms and movements went careening through his mind. The awareness of his powers came then, his eyes, his strength. Then the image of Hunter returned, Splice then knew that he served Hunter and that he must do his maters bidding, when John's screamed of agony climaxed and blood flowed from his nose the knowledge stopped flowing. John's ears rang and the blood dripped down to the cold gray floor. The brain washing was complete, the chip berried deep into John's skull had done its work.

Splice stood and shook his head. He looked up at the photo at Terra again with a new understanding, and a new hatred. There was an open door at the other side of the projector. Next to the door was a small coat rack. A vest with a large collar hung from its barbs, below that lay a pair of jean shorts and some sneakers. John stepped past the projector and slipped the clothing on. He felt something in his pocket. Reaching in with his hand and withdrew a small tracking detector, a small blinking dot flashed on its surface. John put the tracker back into his vest and stepped through the final door. The sun was bright, but Splice saw more then just the sun light when he passed through that door, he saw a staggering display of thousands of colors that we can't even imagine dancing before him. All we would see would be the barren salt desert of Nevada, but to John it was so much more. Then he detected a sound coming from his left, when he looked he saw a small dirt bike that had been left running just for him. The engine hummed softly as he approached on the seat of the bike was a helmet and a manila folder. Inside of the folder was three photos of, Terra again, and then one of Torrent and Ann, a short explanation followed each image. Splice placed this package in a pocket hidden within the inside of his vest. He slipped the helmet on over his head and stepped onto the bike, the fuel gage was full and the keys where in the ignition. John revved the motor and surged forward across the desolate wasteland.

Hunter watched him go on the large screen, the scientist began to cheer and slap each other on the back, Hunter silently waited for them to stop rejoicing before he turned and addressed them,

"Very good job, my friends, you have truly meet and surpassed my expectations, but I'm not through with you yet." This comment caused the smiles of the scientists to fade and the cheers to halt abruptly. Hunter smiled broadly, the scars on his face forgotten "I have another project for you." Another manila folder was removed from Hunter's jacket, he handed it to Dr. Spencer.

He studied the contents within and the expression on his face changed from disappointment to intrigue. The other scientist gathered around the folder with mounting interest, he flipped through the photos and sheets of information quicker and with more and more enthusiasm. He licked his lips and glanced quickly up at Hunter,

"Where on Gods earth did you find this specimen! He's perfect, if we had had him earlier we would not had even bothered with project 'thousand blades'."

"He will be delivered here in a matter of hour, I suggest you start you work immediately, I'm not sure how long I can keep him sedated." Hunter Turned away from the scientist and pressed the button to raise the wall, "I want no fowl ups! We've got one shot at this and I want it perfect. Type B has volunteered to supervise the project, she will be arriving with the specimen." Just before Hunter could walk away a scientist called after him,

"Um, sir? What should we name the project?" Hunter smiled,

"Project Reborn." He removed the cigar and dropped it to the ground, then walked from the room.


	14. Journey

Journey  
(Part 1)

Ann was worried. Terra hadn't talked ever since they had left the city. Torrent wasn't talking either but he had never been all that much of a conversational person, so Ann wasn't too worried. Terra had decided to make camp next to a cliffs edge, each time the group stopped Ann would catch Terra staring off into the distance for long periods of time. Terra would find an empty point in the sky and study it in silence, sometimes for hours on end. Torrent seemed either to not notice or to not care, but Ann was very concerned for the sanity of her new friend, but no matter how hard she thought, Ann could not think of a single thing that she could tell Terra that might ease her pain. The agony Terra felt was a mystery to Ann, the mixture of hope and misery must have been tearing her apart.

Almost a month had passed since the conflict between them and the Titans, Torrent had fully recovered but he had acquired a few new scars to speak of. Ann had been practicing with her powers and was starting to gain a better grip on her ability. Terra did not partake of training however. Her power almost seemed to disgust her. She still blamed them for what had happened to Beast Boy. From the various stories that Ann had heard she gathered that Terra must have been a great warrior once. The jester had said that Terra had been partly evil once, now that evil was loose and on the rampage, it felt wrong to just say out here in the mountains hiding while Type B and Hunter prepared to start another holocaust. The look in Terra's eyes reflected that same thought of vengeance. Terra was planning something, but what that was Ann couldn't tell, psychic powers or not. Torrent was taking a nap, Terra was starring out over the precipice lost in her thoughts, and all Ann could do was watch.

"I'm going back to the lab." It stunned Ann when Terra finally spoke; it even surprised Torrent enough for him to wake from his cat nap. "There might be something I that will help us figure out what's really going on."

"But Terra, do you even remember where that place is?" Ann wasn't sure that revisiting that horrible place would be good for Terra right now.

"Oh yes, I remember. Beast Boy and I went there once, we had fun." Terra smiled. Ann furrowed her eye brows in concern,

"Terra I'm not sure if we should…"

"I said that I was going, you two are free to do as you please, I'm not you leader."

"We're going." Torrent stood and brushed the dirt from his cloths

"We are?" Ann looked up at Torrent in disbelief, he only nodded and smiled.

"It's not far." Terra stood and walked to the edge of the cliff. "Stand back."

She raised her hands and they began to glow with their yellow aura, and the entire mountain began to rumble. Ann grasped on to Torrent leg to steady herself, he wavered slightly as he struggled to stay standing. Terra's hair rose and flapped in the summoned winds. Her eyes burned yellow, rocks around her levitated and broke apart by the power she was exerting. The Cliffside began to crack and groan under the stress, a stair case of rock began to extend outward. Ann watched in wonder as the steps formed from the solid granite. When the construction of stairway was complete Terra dropped her hands to her side, she was breasting heavily. Then with out saying a word or even looking at the other two, Terra began to descend her flight of stairs. Torrent bent down and helped Ann to her feet then followed Terra. Ann cursed under her breath and stayed close at Torrent's heals.

The forest they descended into was thick and dark. It consisted of pines and aspens, so it smelled pleasant, but Torrent was the only one of them that seemed to notice. He was happily taking deep breaths of the sweet air. Ann was looking around nervously, still doubting that this was a good idea. Terra walked briskly ahead of the other two.

"Um, Terra, do think this is safe? I mean there's bound to be more of those tranquilizer commando dudes there and this is kind of like walking right in to Hunters hands, don't you think?" Ann was consistently checking behind them.

"When I left, the lab was deserted, we shouldn't meet any opposition. I want to see if theirs a computer or something there that we can get some info from. Personally I don't trust that Alice chick as far as I can throw her." Terra swept branches out of her way as she proceeded.

"Well Terra, if there where no people there, then who made you?" Terra didn't answer Ann's question, she just continued forward through the thick brush with out even looking back.

Reluctance

(Part 2)

Type B studied Beast Boy. He was suspended in a glass containment tube with a breathing apparatus covering his mouth and nose. A tube attached to his blood stream keeping a steady drip of sedative to maintain his unconscious state. A screen next to the tube showed his various vital signs, it beeped each time his heart pumped. She placed her hand agents the tube next to his face, but she felt only the icy sting of the cold glass. This was the first time that Type B had ever questioned Hunters ideals. The procedure that he had proposed for Beast Boy troubled her, and so she had volunteered to supervise the project to make sure nothing happened. If those scientists hurt Beast Boy she wanted to be there to make them scream. Hunter might have guessed that she had some personal interest in this, but it didn't seem to concern him, Beast Boy was no use to him dead. This way the scientist wouldn't try anything to risky, and she had this time to spend alone with Beat Boy. The fact that he couldn't see her, and that she couldn't touch him, hurt her.

They where in the back of a large cargo tank in the back a military plane on its way to the lab in Nevada. The room was empty except for herself and Beast Boy, the rest of the crew where at their posts. Her time with him alone was growing short; the plane had just begun its decent toward the runway. The screen beeped consistently to mark each time his hear convulsed, in was steady and unchanging. Type B heart was going through much more sporadic movements, she wanted to release Beast Boy and escape with him, but the disk next to her heart burned more fiercely and no matter how much she wanted to Type B could do nothing but look at her motionless Beast Boy and do nothing.

Once the plane had coasted to a stop the large cargo doors began to open behind her, she didn't want to go. She wanted to stay here with Beast Boy, but the men where going to come anyway and take him. A large forklift entered the back of the plane. It held a large metallic cylinder in its claws. When it reached Beast Boy and Type B several locks on the cylinder clicked agar and the cage began to open. Both Beast Boy and the containment tube he floated in where incased by the gigantic shell. All they Type B could do was watch.

On the way to the large hanger door that was the entrance to the lab several dozen armed guards joined them. Type B seemed not to even notice them, the guards on the other hand couldn't seem to resist to consistently shoot nervous glances in her direction. Once they had passed through the thick archway and entered the first room of the lab even more armed troops showed them selves. Dr. Spencer stepped from a door at the other side of the room,

"There you are! The other scientists and I where becoming quite anxious, these experiments are looking more and more promising. We can't wait to start on the new specimen." He needed his hands together in anticipation. Type B eyebrows furrowed and she stepped closer to Dr. Spencer,

"Know this! There will be no 'experiments' on my Beast Boy, if any harm should befall my love I will not hesitate to rip you in half as well as burry this accursed place under a mountain of rock and earth. If that is understood then you may precede, just keep in mind that I will be close by at all times." Spencer cowered away slightly and glanced around in shocked disbelief. The soldiers that had gathered near by looked at one another but said nothing. Type B shoved Dr. Spencer aside as she walked passed him. The forklift drove slowly into a large cargo elevator followed by Type B, she turned and waited for the bewildered Doctor to regain his senses and join her. He coughed and glanced around, then quickly shuffled onto the elevator.

Spencer pressed the basement selection on the panel mounted on a panel next to him. Two grate doors closed in front of them and the elevator began to descend. The silent ride down the elevator shaft consisted of Type B glaring at the back of Dr. Spencer's head and Spencer pretending not to notice her eyes burning into the back of his head. Reaching the base floor revealed even more guards and about a dozen scientists in white lab coats. Hundreds of complex scientific devises coated the floor, walls and even the ceiling. A central tank was illuminated at the focal point of the large room. The forklift began to make its way toward the glowing tube, Type B and Spencer followed. Every face in the room followed the progression of the forklift down the long ramp. It slowed to a stop in front of a strange air lock like device the linked the central tube to the outside world. The metallic cage was lifted until it was parallel to the airlock, scientist gathered closer and closer in anticipation like moths to a flame. Spencer stepped up to a large elevated central control panel. He twisted several knobs and pressed a button. A hissing sound followed as the airlock depressurized, and then its doors opened slowly. Once the opening was wide enough the capsule containing Beast Boy was set within. The airlock doors began to shut and the forklift turned back and started to climb its way back to the cargo elevator. Another hissing sound as the airlock snapped shut. Then it slowly began to fill with the same strange fluid that was inside the central tube. Two mechanical arms descended from the top of the tank and gripped Beast Boy by the shoulders. They pulled him free of the air lock and held him in the center of the glowing tube. The arms began to attach the same moderating devises to Beast Boy's skin that had been placed on Terra and John. As they where applied screens around the room clicked on, displaying various statistics about that young green boy. A gigantic master screen that took up an entire wall turned on showing his heart beat. Type B looked around in astonishment, Spencer obviously could see her shock on her face,

"See my child, there is nothing to fear. We are perfectly prepared for this assignment. He is in good hands." Type B glared back at the Doctor,

"For all your sakes I hope so." She turned and began to walk from the room.


	15. Attack

Attack

Terra was getting tired, she hadn't slept very well for the last couple nights, the journey to the lab was taking longer then she had expected. She wasn't sure if it was impatience or fear that burned within her gut. Terra didn't fear what they might find, what ever confronted her Terra was confident she could over come it for Beast Boy, but if they found nothing she might not be able to save him, and that terrified her. Unlike Terra, Torrent was taking the long trip very well, the constant movement and lack of rest seemed only to make him more exuberant, but Ann on the other hand was obviously not pleased with the endless trek. It wasn't the lack of food or sleep, it was Ann's fear that what Terra might find would hurt her more then she already was.

Still Ann followed as Terra stampeded through the undergrowth, trampling through the sharp branches and pointed thorns with no regard to the scratches they ripped into her clothing and skin. Every now and then, Ann was forced to jog to keep up, in the wake of Terra's and Torrent's path. Her mind told her that they where getting close, but then again Ann could never really tell if it was her telepathy speaking or if she was just talking to her self. When Terra suddenly hauled Ann's suspicions where confirmed. A clearing lay just beyond where she stood, it was littered with the rusted remains of what was once a large carnival of some kind. Long and rusted, jagged claw like spikes emerged from the ground at the place where the Farris wheel once turned, shards of reflective glass glowed like rows of sharp white teeth where the house of mirrors had stood, and a small untouched tool shed stood in the center of the destruction, the only thing that had half way survived the tests of time. The slowly fading light gave the area an eerie atmosphere, and as Ann had suspected, it was not abandoned. Two guards stood at either side of the tool shed as subordinates slowly ferried supplies out of the hidden lad below. Terra followed the workers path with her eyes and saw a large black-hawk helicopter being loaded with the supplies. Three more guards sat near the helicopter, one of witch was sitting behind a large Vulcan cannon machine gun. The soldiers casually laughed and chatted with one another as the workers hauled the heavy scientific equipment. Occasionally one would yell and strike out at one of the laborers, but other then that the soldiers seemed content in smoking and partaking in social exchange rather then keeping watch for possible attacks. This is most likely the reason why the sudden appearance of Terra, Ann and Torrent had gone unnoticed. Terra stepped to one side and hid behind a tree. Then she suddenly turned and addressed her two friends,

"Stay here, and make sure no one follows me." Ann looked surprised when Terra said that she was actually going to try to reach the lab,

"Wait, you're going to try to get past that huge gun and all those guards and down in to the lab… and by your self no less… look I know you love Beast boy but…" Terra didn't even let Ann finish. She just walked out from behind the tree and began to cross the empty clearing that separated her from the guards. Ann watched in horror then covered her eyes to avoid seeing her friend being torn to shreds by the mounted cannon.

The guards didn't even see Terra for the first few seconds, their emersion in the conversations they where having was distracting them, the two by the door where the first to see her, but the soldiers didn't even raise their guns. They watched inquisitively as she crossed the field. Once she was ten feet from the door one guard raised his hand and started to speak, before he could begin however Terra's hands shot upward and the earth trembled beneath their feet. Two hands, resembling Terra's, formed from rock and earth ripped out from the depths beneath the soldiers' feet. They enveloped the guards' entire bodies and hauled them screaming downward into their black and silent tomb. The others watched in shocked horror as the unfortunate pair's screams where muffled as dirt filled their lungs. The workers fled in fear, their yells and shrieks filling the once silent clearing. Terra heard a clicking sound to her left and glanced over to see the barrels of the Vulcan cannon begin to revolve, she lifted her left hand and a solid wall of rock erupted in the line of fire of the gun. Before the gunner could stop his shots ricocheted from the hard surface and ripped his fragile body to shreds. The last two ran around the large rock barrier and charged Terra. Two small rocks levitated from the ground and hung, suspended in the air level with Terra's eyes. She paused for a moment as if calibrating for wind current, then set the rocks loose. They shot forward at speeds far to fast for the human eye to capture; each found its target in the two soldiers' skulls. They flipped backward and landed lifeless on the ground.

She stood in the same place that she had stopped, not a step had been taken and all five guards where no more. Terra remained motionless at that spot for nearly a minute, Ann could fell Terra's anger, hate and regret resonating off of her like a burning heat. Ann knew that regardless of what she found in the underground libratory her pain and anger would remain, revenge was fueled by anger but it did not remove it. But Ann knew that this war had to be fought by both sides, and like it or not, they would have to be the good guys in fight. Terra took a slow step forward, then another, and another. The sheds door groaned slightly as it swung open, the hatch that led down into the dark truths that she sought lay open. Terra stood in the slightly rotten arch way of the old tool shed and considered the door with a look of deep seeded anxiety. She dreaded walking down its cold halls and through its empty rooms once again, the very thought made every inch of her skin crawl. Regardless of her fear of what waited for her Terra stepped through the door and disappeared into the inky darkness below.

Torrent suddenly jerked and cocked his head. Ann watched and felt Terra's pain, oblivious to what Torrent was doing. He sniffed the air, sucking in quick sharp gulps of oxygen through his noise. Hidden in its fragrance Torrent had detected the sign of another person, a male, forty feet to the east, upwind, he smelt surprisingly a lot like Terra. Torrent didn't move of try to get Ann's attention, it was a very good chance that the mystery spectator was watching him. So Torrent stayed still and waited for Ann to read his mind, Ann however was far to busy worrying about Terra to rip her eyes from the empty shack. Then a slight movement caught Torrents sharp eyes, across the field and through a dozen trees a twig fell from the branches to the soft foliage underneath, Torrent looked upward towards the twigs original position and saw the spectator. It was a young boy, maybe a little younger then Torrent was, he was crouched on a branch close to the middle of the tree. He wore a slightly red tinted vest, his first mistake, that red tint shone like a beacon for Torrents sharp eyes. He wasn't moving, his second mistake, Torrent's nose picked up his smell as he sat motionless and let they wind carry his smell toward him, and his final mistake, he had his eyes fixed on Ann, so he had not yet noticed that Torrent had spotted him. Torrent was not about to let the spectator know that he was on to his little game, so he kept his eyes looking toward the shed but watched the silent observer in the corner of his eye.

Splice had hunted down Terra's tracking device, but found it had been removed from his prey and cast aside in the middle of an empty field. The tracks left by Terra and the others where however easily enough to follow. He quickly pursued them and had just now come in to contact with his targets. He had seen Terra's unexpected display of power and had decided it would act toward his advantage to wait to catch her on her own, rather than move to a direct assault on all three enemies at once. The other two, Ann and the one they called Torrent seemed content to sit and wait for their obviously more powerful leader to return. He saw no tactical threat in attacking these two by himself. Splice looked down and pulled his berretta from it holster on his ankle, when he glance back at the two targets he noticed that the one they called Torrent was gone. His eyes readjusted and saw him slowly climbing through the trees to Ann's right. Splice smiled to him self and leapt to the ground. Ann looked up in surprise and Torrent froze in the tree, Splice raised the gun and fired.

Torrent cried out and fell from the tree. He landed with a thud on the hard earth and didn't move. Ann screamed and started to run to his side, another shot rang out. The bullet hummed through the air inches in front of Ann face, she froze and looked toward Splice. The gun was aimed toward her and its barrel still smoked.

"Then next one won't miss, Hunter wants you alive but I still think that he could still find uses for your dead body." His face and body looked human except for the spikes running down his spine and the strange designs covering his skin, but his voice was an entirely different matter. Ann gasped when the strange demonic sound came from under his large collar. "Now come here." Splice pulled a small orange disk from a pocket on his vest.

"I'd rather die!" Ann shrunk away at the sight of the control disk.

"Well then, it looks like you'll be joining your dead friend." Splice raised his gun.

"Do you mean Torrent? Because he not dead, just try looking behind you." Ann smirked. Splice laughed loud and long, he paused long enough to speak a short question,

"Did you really think that that would work?" He laughed even louder and let his gun drop to his side, but his merriment was cut short as her heard a clicking sound followed by a whirring noise. Splice turned around just quick enough to see Torrent sitting the controls of the Vulcan cannon, and he was smiling.

Bullets flew from the gun like water from a hose; each found its mark in Splice's chest sending the berretta and the control disk flying in to the bushes. Splice was sent sailing backward into a tree. Torrent continued firing, but the bullets simply struck Splice's body and ricocheted off. Ann hid behind a tree as the reflected shots thudded into its bark. Torrent gritted his white teeth at the recoil of the gun passed though his body. Splice slowly pushed himself from the tree and began walking toward the helicopter, the bullets still colliding with his skin. The ricocheted shots made a clinking sound each time they glanced off their targets hardened body, Ann was forced to cover her ears from the combined sound of that and the continuously firing cannon. Splice was gradually coming closer and closer. Torrent could feel the multiple barrels heating up and burring the palms of his hands, he could smell the sent of searing flesh, but Torrent still remained smiling. Once Splice stood only five feet from the cannon, he stopped walking. The gun fired for several more seconds then slowly spun to a halt, smoke and the smell of gunpowder rising from the barrels into the air. Splice cocked his head to one side and asked,

"Give up?" Torrent was panting heavily but his still answered,

"Out of ammo." Splice laughed and Torrent smiled back, then Splice pulled a knife from his boot and to a step toward Torrent.

Splice felt a hand touch either side of his head, a finger on each temple and pain so intense that the knife fell from his hand ripped through his brain. Ann stood behind the screaming splice with her eyes squeezed shut. The chip berried deep within Splice's brain sparked and shorted out, John fell to the hard ground unconscious. Ann looked down at him for a second then stepped over his body and ran to Torrent.

"Where are you hit?" Ann began to run her hands up and down each of his limbs in search of puncture wounds, Torrent remained silent and sat back to enjoy they investigation. Finally Ann stopped and raised one eye brow,

"He didn't hit you did he?" Torrent, still smiling, raised a broken stick he had kept in one of his hands,

"Shot off my hand hold, made me fall." Ann glared at him then punched him in the arm, he snickered slightly and smiled up at her. She smiled too and helped his out of the gunner's sheet.

They both froze when they saw Splice standing in front of them, he held the knife in one hand and his vest was open to expose his beast like lower jaw. For nearly a minute they stood looking at one another, and then Splice bent and returned the knife to its scabbard and walked away into the forest.


	16. Secrets

Secrets

The hall was even more cold and bleak as Terra had remembered. It had been winter when she had last been here but even now, in the middle of summer, the walls emitted the same frigid temperatures as they had more then a year ago. This time Terra stopped at one of the doors lining the hall and looked inside. Each room had been cleared out almost completely, save a few strange looking parts that had been removed from larger pieces of machinery that where scattered about on the floors of each room. The workers had obviously been in a hurry to clear this place out; she wondered if they knew that she was coming. Terra stopped when she came to the final door, she became aware that her heart beet had increased and she was breathing heavily. The thought occurred to Terra that she might be frightened of what lay beyond the door. Her dedication must have been blocking that terror out, because she did not feel any fear.

She took one more step and the door automatically slid open. Directly in front of her sat the cloning vat, her place of birth, her mechanical whom. Her eyes narrowed as she stepped into the interior of the room, she regarded the tank with disgust and she swung wide as to avoid getting to close to it. Immediately after she had passed by the tank Terra noticed that the room was bigger then she had remembered, about three times actually. She examined the ceiling and found two hidden walls that had acted as barriers to block her from seeing whatever was hiding in the room with her last time, these walls now where retracted back up into their ceiling compartment and the rest of the room was visible. One of the newly exposed sections of the room was empty, what ever was there the workers had taken out on the helicopter. From the looks of it they must have had to make several trips or used multiple transports to take all this equipment from all these now hollow rooms. She must have just showed up as the last transport was preparing to leave, and a good thing to, the other side had not yet been touched. Large computer screens and multiple keyboards where suspended by long mechanical arms. There was a single office chair sitting in the center of all the equipment, like a hub to a large technical wheel. Terra thought for a moment, then sat down in the chair. Some sort of lever was activated by the sudden pressure on the chair, the two large hidden walls fell from the ceiling with fighting speed and cut her off from the rest of the outside world, then each of the screens simultaneously clicked on, with a small, single worded question printed on each of their large screens,

"Password?" Terra cursed under her breath, she had never known anything about computers let alone enough to hack into a top security government one. When she glanced around the room there didn't seem to be any other way out, so she scooted the chair closer to the keyboard and leaned to look at the screen closer.

She had no idea of what the password might be so she began to make random guesses. _Monkey_, **incorrect**, _nachos_, **incorrect**, _type B_, **incorrect**, _Beast Boy_, **incorrect**, _Hunter_, **incorrect**, _Ann_, **incorrect**, _you fucking machine let me in_, **incorrect**, _Terra_… their was a flurry small clicking sounds as the computer contemplated the information, then another word replaced the password entry panel. **Excepted**, Terra was stunned that it was in fact her name that had granted access to the hidden files, the machine clicked several more times then a young woman's voice rose from the speakers, "Greetings General Hunter what category do you wish to select." The screen changed and six selections appeared in the center of the screen.

_1. The Organization _

_2. Torrent_

_3. Ann_

_4. Thousand Blades_

_5. Terra _

_6. Reborn_

She placed the mouse pointer over the icon that had "the Organization" listed across its surface. Terra cursed again when yet another password question appeared, she clicked back to the list and tried the icon for Torrent. The screen changed and a picture of a younger but as always, smiling Torrent appeared on the largest screen. To the right of the photo was a long listing of characteristic related to the boy. All of witch Terra was already affiliated with. Ann had spent a considerably long time with the young wild boy so she at least knew as much as Hunter did about Torrent. Terra browsed lightly for a few more minute then clicked back. She clicked into Ann's section next. Another picture with a large box of text, this one however had another section beneath the text and photo. In large bold letters the words, OPERATION: CLEAN SLATE, read under the girls smiling school photo. Even further down the page was another long text block. The first part of the text was purely dedicated to explaining the inner workings of Ann's physic abilities, most of this part Terra was forced to skip over because of the amount of indiscernible technical phrases used in the explanation. Next came the history of how the operation came into being. The search for a compatible subject to power the project had been under way for nearly a decade, searching sects had been placed all over the world and in almost every major city. They finally found Ann near home, but before they could capture her she was snatched away by the organization's previous attempted project recruit, Torrent. After the wild boy had stolen her away, the organization had apparently looked for another like her to continue operation: Clean Slate but had turned up empty handed. They had gone after her but had been equally unsuccessful in recapturing Ann. The final part of operation: Clean Slate was just what Hunter had said it would be, the control and eventual destruction of all the gifted in the world. Terra smiled and was pleased in the fact that she had helped to foil that plan. Next she clicked on the section called Thousand Blades.

A photo of her assassin, Splice, appeared and a short explanation of each of his acquired abilities. Terra read this section carefully, not just because that this would be the boy who would be sent to kill her, but also because he seemed to have been created in a way similar to how she was brought into the world. She found herself wondering what the real color of his eyes might have been instead of the demonic black they had been transformed into. The same control that Splice had been forced under had been meant for her as well, and she would have been yet another addition to Hunter's mindless army. After observing the photo for several more moments she scrolled down the page. Beneath was a list of his genetically placed abilities.

_**Damage** **resistance**, all but the most forceful of injuries will cause harm to this subject of project thousand blades._

_**Artificial training**, the entire record of fighting techniques available to the US government is placed into the subject's memory._

_**Ocular enhancements**, any form of light or ray, which is normally invisible to the human eye, can be detected by the subject's prototype improvements._

If Hunter could do this with genetics there was no doubt in Terra's mind that he had the ability to clone her, or anyone as a matter of fact. The sudden connection she felt with her assassin felt strange, but it was justified, they where both children of the same abomination of science. Terra returned to the menu.

Her site confirmed all the information the she already knew, both she and her sister Type B where the same person at one time, and like her Terra was meant to have become another servant like her malevolent sister. She didn't feel like reading over her painful history so she skipped the historical section, under that was a list of abilities, she knew each of them well, beneath that was updates on her current actions. Terra was apparently was doing a pretty good job on avoiding Hunter and his goons, because they had no idea of her whereabouts ever cense Torrent removed the tracking device from her hip. She clicked back to the icon list and selected the final category. She gasped and pushed away from the screen when a photo of Beast Boy appeared. He was unconscious (at least she hoped he was) and suspended in a large tube with wires similar to the one's she had been connected to when she awoke from this room attached to him. There was a paragraph to the right of the photo, it was shorter then the others.

_Reborn's subject has been chosen to be the green changeling, his unstable genetic structure make it simpler to genetic tamper and alter his structure so more complex mutations will be possible. Unlike the project Thousand Blades, no additional DNA will be added, just alterations of the current structure. As in project Thousand Blades however the increase of damage resistance shall be put into place. His ability to change his form allowed him to heal himself and he survived the procedure. No mental control or tampering will be necessary; Hunter has an experimental form of control that he believes will work much better. Complete transformation of his physical structure will no longer be possible, only partial section of his body can be morphed, his head and basic torso must remain whole. He is no longer limited to the animal kingdom however; any type of transformation can mentally imagine will be within his reach. Strength, agility and speed have each nearly tripled in the short time that we have had to work with the subject. Strange black stripes have appeared on his skin, they slightly resemble those of a tiger or cheetah but are thicker and less numerous. We believe they might be similar to the designs that formed on the Thousand Blade subject's skin; witch marks a success on the damage resistance experiment. No physical mutations have been recorded or are projected to occur, his tolerance to the sedative however is growing at an exponential rate, and soon we will have to find another way to subdue his increasing aggression. Type B will not allow any more then a small fraction of drug to be used at one time. It is a challenge that my team and I shall rise to meet. The next report will be posted shortly._

_Dr. Spencer, Hunter Labs Nevada_

The horror grew and grew within Terra as she read deeper into the article. The though of her Beast Boy being experimented on by insane scientists filled her with a very explicit rage. Type B being present only fuelled the flames within her more. _Hunters Labs Nevada _had a link next to it, Terra clicked on it and a large satellite photo map appeared. A small blinking red dot marked each of the lab sites, one dot for where she sat, another in the mountains to the north, all alone and away from the others, then one where Beast Boy was sleeping, beyond the mountains and past the dry desert. She touched the screen where the dot steadily pulsed, as if she could feel Beast Boy was that much closer.

A sharp beeping noise began and one of the other smaller screens snapped on. The camera outside had been triggered by something moving just beyond the wall in front of her. It scanned the empty room for several seconds and Terra saw nothing, then Torrent stepped in and looked around the room with a confused look on his face, he scratched his head and his smile faded a little. Terra breathed out heavily, she found the release button and clicked it. The walls groaned heavily then began to retract into the ceiling. Torrent jumped slightly then crouched as if preparing for a fight. He saw Terra and calmed down. She smiled slightly and waved at Torrent,

"Hi Torrent, where's Ann. I gotta talk to you guys." He stood erect and his smile grew to it former intensity, then he jerked his head in the direction of the exit and began to walk back down the hall. Terra stood from the chair and started to follow Torrent down the hall. She stopped just before stepping up into the tool shed and turned back to look down the cold hall way. Torrent stopped as well and looked at her then cocked his head to one side in confutation of why she had stopped,

"One last thing." Terra raised her hand and the yellow aura from about them, Torrent took several extra steps backward. The earth rumbled and the metal walls creaked and cracked in response. Then in one moment of overwhelming force and sound the metal rooms and their hallway imploded in upon itself. Shards of rock and metal flew past Terra; she stood resolute as Torrent jumped out of the way to doge a particularly large splitter of metal. A sharp piece of shrapnel flew past her eye and left a small cut across her right cheek. The rumbling ceased and Terra dropped her hands to her side, and the lab was gone, nothing left but rubble and memories. Terra turned and walked past Torrent and out into the twilight.

Ann was sitting on the ground next to the helicopter with her knees tucked into her chest as she studied the sky. When Terra and Torrent emerged she stood and ran over to meet them.


	17. Illusion

Illusion

(Part 1)

Ann was sitting on the ground next to the helicopter with her knees tucked into her chest as she studied the cloudless sky above her. When Terra and Torrent emerged from the dark interior of the shed Ann shot to her feet and ran over to meet them. She looked worried the unexpected implosion of the lab but relived that the ceiling didn't cave in on her friends,

"What the hell was that? Are you guys ok?" Terra waved her aside,

"We're fine, but thanks for asking." Blood from the small cut on her face had already hardened into a scab.

Suddenly Torrent stopped walking, and then slowly turned to look back at the tool shed. Ann noticed that he stopped and turned to look as well; she gasped and stumble a few steps backward. Terra whirled with her fists rose expecting another fight. Torrent was standing complacently and calmly, he didn't seem to be concerned at all at the presence atop the shed that startled Ann so. Then Terra saw why and dropped her hands to her side, the Jester sat with her feet dangling over the edge of the roof just as she had when she watched Terra battle the Titans in the gorge. Terra's eyes narrowed and she signed with audible distain,

"What the hell do _you _want?" Sparks, the jester, mocked at emotional injury for being addressed so condescendingly by Terra. She put a hand to her chest and gasped,

"Is that really necessary Terra? After all I am here to help." She smiled and the act melted away to give in to her normal mysteriously pleasant mood. She leapt from atop the shed to the ground and stood several yards away from the other three, "You guys have been busy, one lab down, two to go. I don't think I could have done a better…" Sparks trailed off, Torrent had walked up to her and he was sniffing her in various places over her body. She blushed and looked very surprised. Ann crossed her arms and glared at Torrent as she spoke,

"Torrent, what the hell are you doing?" Anger burned behind her words. Torrent sniffed several more times as if double checking then stood, with his inspection complete. He leaned very close to the jesters face and looked deep into her eyes, Sparks blushed even more. Then Torrent smiled and stood erect again, Ann was fuming and resisting the urge to scream. He kept eye contact with Sparks for several more seconds the spoke.

"She's not real. She has no sent and the sun does not reflect in her eyes… a hologram maybe but she's not real." Torrent turned and walked back to the others. Sparks blinked in surprise several times and said nothing. Ann calmed slightly but still glared at Torrent as he walked by, then Ann observed the jester for several seconds then turned to Terra.

"He's right I can detect no audible thoughts coming from her but I can sense some presence there, maybe it's an illusion or an astral projection or something." Sparks put her hands of her hips and it seemed as though she was in fact really offended by that remark this time,

"Illusion? Please, I am a creation not an intangible thing of smoke and mirrors. My master created me to act a messenger for her, she did not want her presence to be known unless absolutely necessary but you're nosey friend Torrent figured things out regardless. I guess it is about time you meat her though… but she can't come." Sparks extended a long gloved finger in the direction of Terra. Ann gasped and spoke out in protest,

"What? Why not? Terra's our leaded there's no way we're going with out her!"

"No… its ok. I have more important things to do. Someone must save Beast Boy." Terra turned away from the group and began to walk westward. Suddenly Sparks was in front of her, she grasped her by the shoulders and shook Terra as she spoke,

"Where is Beast Boy? What did you find out?" Terra pushed Sparks off of her with one hand and snapped back in rage,

"Why the hell do you care Jester?! He is in danger and I seem to be the only one who gives a shit, then all the sudden you want in now that I know something! You have your meeting with my friends, I have better things to do! He is being held in another lab to the west, and I go to see that he isn't forced in to the fate that was destined for me." The ground beneath Terra's feet broke apart and she rose into the air levitated on a large stone. She glared down at Sparks, "Don't follow me." Terra and the rock she stood on flew west and into the distance. Ann and Torrent watched as she dissipated below the horizon. Sparks watched to, when Terra was gone the jester tuned and faced the remaining two,

"Lets go, the master is waiting." Sparks waked north, followed by Torrent and Ann.

Love

(Part 2)

The wind whistled past Terra's ears as she flew. Her eyes watered and she was forced to clinch her teeth to keep her mouth closed. She found herself missing her goggles. They had served well in shielding her eyes from the wind when she flew at high speeds. The mountains where disappearing behind her and the hills beneath her where steadily decreasing in size, soon she would be over the desert. The exertion it took to move the rock didn't take nearly as much concentration as it had before, her powers where returning. She could feel the rock under her control, she could feel it as she could feel her hands, and it was like an extension of her body. With this new revelation Terra decided to bring the rock to a lower altitude. Her makeshift vehicle slowly descended. Terra skimmed over the tops of hills and clearings, the trees bent after her when she rocketed by. The hills ended and a large flat expanse of dry earth expanded from horizon to horizon. With a little more effort she pushed to rock to an even faster speed, a typhoon of dust and sand lifted behind her as the skimmed across the desert. Terra could feel the ground beneath her, she could feel the dust in the air, and she could fell the rock deep below the surface. She pushed the dust in the air of her out of the way as she flew forward to keep it from hitting her face. The bottom of her rock skimmed the ground beneath her, leaving a thin line in the dust to be swallowed up by the enormous wave of rock and sand she left in her wake. Terra see now that the small pieces of earth where not striking her in the eyes, when she open them she saw a thin tower of black smoke rising into the sky directly in front of her. She starred at the black line for several moments as possibilities to explain the smoke maturated in her thoughts, but the fact that it was coming from the exact direction in witch the lab laid gave little indulgence to imagination. Panic gripped her and she pushed the rock to move even faster.

The side of the mountain where the lab entrance once stood was now little more then a smoking cavity carved into the cliff side. Pieces of smoldering shrapnel where strewn across the blank sands. The skeletal structure of what looked to have once been a jet, still burned on the air strip. Dead bodies of soldiers and scientists alike where placed among the debris, the majority of them where not intact, they where sliced into two or more pieces, the sand red around them. Places in the sand had been charred black, most from fire but some places where craters formed by some kind of explosive, most likely grenades.

Terra slowed the rock to a halt and leapt off to look upon the nightmarish landscape. She surveyed for only several seconds, then the wake that she had left behind her caught up and she was immersed in screaming winds and burning sands. Terra closed her eyes and raised her hands, then a bubble of clear air formed around her as the sand and dust where pushed away. The few fires that still burned where blown into extinction and most of the smoking metal was covered in a thin layer of sand. She stood unmoving until the gale of earth and air had passed. When it died away Terra dropped her hands to her side and approached the dark scar in the mountain.

Black lines extended upward from the open door, marks where the fire had licked at the stone. The thick doors where bent outward. Something very strong must have broken it from within. The interior was as black as the burned lines on the rock; each of the lights must have been destroyed or extinguished. Terra raised her hand and called on her newly awakened power once more. The ceiling of the gigantic room that lay before her ripped open and daylight spilled into the black room. Terra immediately dropped her hand and looked away. Hundreds of bodies plastered the walls; it looked as though none of these had been left intact. Terra took a deep breath and turned back to the vision of carnage. She slowly took a step forward and passed over the floor that was coated in corpses. There was another metal door in front of her, it had been knocked open and it hung on barely by one of its hinges. Beyond that was more darkness. This time Terra found a large flashlight held by a severed arm. She shook it loose and clicked it on. The opening turned out not to be a room at all but a long empty elevator shaft. Terra looked down the long black pit and saw a destroyed elevator at it end, no doubt containing more bodies. Terra ripped a chunk of cement from the wall and rode in down into an even deeper darkness. Her light scanned the small blank room at the end of the shaft, nothing on the walls nothing on the floor. But yet another door continued to lead farther down, Terra stepped through.

The flashlight fell from her hands and struck the ground with a metallic clink. The large complex laboratory that stood before her was littered with the bodies of dead scientist. Just as Terra began to wonder if nothing had survived this rampage of hate and anger a small noise came from down the ramp atop witch she stood. Terra bent and grabbed the light and jogged down. When her boots clomped against the metal the noise echoed against the walls of the large silent tomb. She reached the base and saw a scientist gripped at a puncture wound the size of a foot ball on his left shoulder. As she was kneeling the question occurred to Terra of just how long this man had been sitting here, no one could remain conscious with a wound like that for more then a half an hour. That meant that whatever happened here must happened less then thirty minutes ago. That was every living thing destroyed and the destruction rained on the building and vehicles outside, not to mention time to get away, in less than thirty minutes. When Terra had arrived she had seen nothing to either direction as far as the eye could see. Not a single dot on the horizon. The man was alive enough to look up at her as she knelt next to him. A name tag attached to his blood stained white coat read, Dr. Spencer. He smiled and laughed to the best of his ability.

"So is it over already? It must be. A little girl like you wouldn't have made it down here alive unless he was long gone. He's grown even more powerful then I could have imagined. It's beautiful." Spencer paused in his adoration of the instrument of his death to cough out blood onto his white sleeve. "I only wish I could see him at his peak."

"Who?" But Terra already knew what Dr. Spencer was going to say.

"The Beast Boy." He smiled at the tears that formed in her eyes, "So you knew my creation before he was born again then did you? In that case I am sorry, but there is nothing you can do now but watch him in his devastating magnificence." She grasped him by the collar of his dress shirt and lifted him several inches from the pool of blood he had left on the floor.

"Why!" Terra could only manage small single word sentences through clinched teeth and eyes full of tears. Spencer looked at her for several seconds then pointed to a blood splattered control panel near by.

"Push the large blue button." Terra dropped him back into his place and walked to the panel. She pushed a body to one side and saw the button. She clicked it and small lights began to click on around the room.

A large central screen flickered on and Beast Boy's photo appeared. It was the same photo that she had seen in the other lab, him in the tube with cords attached to his body. Then another photo replaced that one, Beast boy had longer ears and black hair. Another appeared with his ears dramatically larger and where his now black hair hanging down past his shoulders, large black stripes covered his body and his eyes where solid white. The center of the room suddenly illuminated to reveal the large tube in witch Beast Boy had been imprisoned. The glass was shattered outward and tubes hung out of the opening. When Spencer spoke his words where weak, for he was nearing death.

"He broke free. He was angry for what we had done to him, why I do not know. The power that is now in his hands is beyond any other. What it is that he could want that is greater then the power we have given him I can not imagine." Terra stood and threw the flash light at Spencer's feet,

"Love." She turned and walked back up the ramp to leave the scientist to his death, she would destroy this lab as she had the other, but that would not undo what had been done.


	18. Prisoner

Prisoner

An inky darkness filled each secluded corner in his mind. He could feel neither his body nor his mind. Everything was gone, but somehow still a small piece of him was still conscious within that black void. When his eyes snapped open and Beast Boy was fully awake, he saw bubbles rising around him in the green liquid he was immersed in. Outside the liquid and through the glass, everything was blurred beyond recognition. He thought he saw what looked like a man in a white lab coat looking back at him through the glass. Then the darkness took his mind again. All was quite and still. A burning feeling on the sides of his neck and down his spine pulled him back in to the real world and away from the void. He was no longer in the silent tube filled with water and bubbles. Now, alarms where screaming like small frantic animals from every direction. Their shrill screech burned into his ears, and he was forced to cover them with his hands. The occasional flicker of a damaged florescent light overhead was the only source of light. He looked down and saw all the bodies and blood at his feet and along the walls, he stood knee deep in the dead. Ahead of him was a light. He ran out through the broken door out into the bright desert sun. The endless wail of the siren died away and he could hear only the sound of the flames as the building burned behind him. Out side was only more death flung across the landscape. What ever had killed these people had made sure it had completed its job before moving on. Then he felt the warm desert wind of his face. It felt good as it gently caressed his entire body. The fact the he wasn't wearing any clothes seemed not to be important to him right now. He closed his eyes and breathed deep, glad to be free of the cold interior of that mass tomb. Opening his eyes, he looked down at his hands. Dark blood stained every inch of his deep green skin, he began to scream but the blackness overpowered him and he was lost within its depths once again. He floated in the sea of ink for what seemed like hours. Then it released him for a final time. The black faded away from his eyes to give way to the morning sun. Beast Boy felt like he was awaking from a deep dream had been too horrific to fully recollect.

He was lying on a soft bed of leaves and grass, he still wore no clothes but he did feel the pang of cold metal against the side of his neck. There was the sound of a roaring waterfall to his right. The echo of the water pummeling rock was deafening but somehow soothing. His hands where clean of blood but they still carried its foul odor. After sitting up he grabbed at the thing around his neck. It was made from some kind of metal that encircled his entire neck and snaked down half of his spine. He gripped the strange collar and pulled to try to remove it, but the metal held fast to his skin. When he touched the collar with his hand he felt his finger through the metal as well as he did on his bare skin. It was as if the thing had grown out of, and was a part of, his body. Beast Boy did not give in to the mounting panic that attempted to over take him, his thoughts clicked into place and he pulled a conclusion from his memories. This was the same type of devise that had been attached to Terra, it was integrated into his skin and there was no way to remove it. He looked down at the collar and his suspicions where confirmed. Three familiar orange disks had been placed directly above his chest within the collar, but the memorable S was not at their center. Instead a similar looking H was in its place. Confused by this Beast Boy realized how dry his throat was. He stood slowly on wobbly legs and staggered toward the flowing stream near by. He found a still spot between two rocks and bent to take a drink. Beat Boy stopped mid way with his cupped hands hovering inches above the slightly flowing surfaced of the reflecting water.

He had changed, his face and hair where no longer his own. His ears had grown and become even move sharp, his skin had deepened in color and his hair now flowed down past his shoulders. It was black now, as black as the black in the lifeless trance he had been placed under only moments ago. Equally dark stripes had formed along his jaw line. Even more stripes appeared on each side of his neck and more continued periodically down his arms, chest, back, and legs. He felt at the black sections with his bloodless hands, but when the tips of his fingers touched the surface of his skin he felt nothing. It was as if pieces of him had died, and still clung to him. Even the artificial metal that was grafted to his neck felt more alive then these parts of his own body.

Beast Boy's ears twitched, the faint sound of distant radio chatter touched his ears, even over the deep rumble of the waterfalls. He surveyed his surroundings quickly and dropped down into a crouching position. He could see nothing around him, except the waterfall to his left and the trees in every direction. The noise was coming from his right. He would have to get higher to see who was using the radio. The strangeness of what was happening suddenly occurred to him. The sound of the falls next to him was deafening, all but the most earsplitting cries would have been audible over its resonance. Against all reason he had still picked up the slight noise of radio static within that sea of noise. Beast Boy leapt on to and quickly scrambled up the cliff that the falls descended over. What ever was causing this sudden enhancement in his hearing abilities had obviously improved his climbing skills. He cleared the tops of the trees and turned to peer out over the tops of the pines. After several hundred yards the trees stopped and a road began. Beast Boy was just in time to see a line of three black armored cars pull up and stop parallel to the forest. He was shocked of the distance he could see, the cars where a good half a mile off and he could read their license plates, they where government issue vehicles. Two of the cars opened their doors and released six men. The other sat and did nothing. The men had been a mile away and inside an armored vehicle and Beast Boy had heard them over the falls; he began to marvel at what he had become. He could even hear what they where saying. The leader was briefing the others about what their mission was as they walked into the trees. He spoke of how the target was most likely unconscious next to the waterfall; also his green body would make identifying him in the thick undergrowth difficult. Beast Boy blinked in surprise, they were talking about him.

Beast Boy leapt from his perch to the ground, he glanced around quickly looking for a place to hide. His eyes saw a small cave hidden behind the waterfall and he leapt through the waters. The cave was shallow and empty, his long ears twitched and he realized he could still hear the soldiers beyond the falls. Their voices had stopped but their noisy foot steps across the cluttered forest floor where more then enough to allow BB to keep tabs on their position.

The leader reached the stream and halted. He glanced around then clicked a com button on the side of his technical looking helmet. Over the radio he told whoever was on the other end that the subject's body was not to be found at the anticipated location and that a sweep of the immediate area was in progress. He turned to the rest and made several exaggerated hand gestures to signal the men to search the area, several of them nodded and each spread out to inspect the area. Beast Boy was thinking of a way to get out of this when the metal collar around his neck began to hum softly.

He looked down at it and the three disks and its center began to glow a bright orange. There was a sting of pain at the base of his neck and Beast Boy roared in pain and fell to his knees. The short hairs at the base of his neck bristled outward and his K-9 teeth elongated to a remarkably length. He felt something primal snap awake from deep within his mind, that primeval under-consciousness that has been apart of all of us ever sense the moment of creation. The new mind over took him and his eyes turned into white glowing pits in his face. They looked down at his hands; the black stripes had been growing and had now almost completely engulfed the small bits of dark green that where still showing. The fingers slowly seemed to be melding together and extending outwards. Then Beast Boy realized what his arms where trying to become, they where forming into blades. He willed the change and his forearms instantly replaced themselves with long, gagged, black weapons. Other black edges erupted out from the stripes on his back and along his shoulders. His legs began to morph separately from the rest of his body into what looked like large, hairy wolf legs. This newly found ability to transform individual parts of him self was not expected but somehow felt natural. His white eyes looked upward from his changing body and out past the water.

The leader of the group stood on the other side of the moving sheet of liquid, through the transparent barrier the man looked like a moving oil panging. One of the soldiers must have heard Beast Boy scream when the collar had unleashed the primitive mind within him, because all the men past the wall of mist where starring into the falls. The primal rage within him burned a little hotter and Beast Boy smiled.


	19. Opposition

Opposition

Droplets of dew fell from the trees and misted Ann's face as she stood. The long trip north had caused Ann's body temperature to rise dramatically, and the welcome chill of the dew was readily accepted. She closed eyes and raised them skyward, greeting the refreshing mists with open arms. Torrent had been walking several steps behind Ann until she had stopped abruptly. He paused as she did and watched as Ann acquired such astonishing pleasure from the simple cool sprinkle falling from the leaves above the trail. She heard his thoughts and began to speak to him with her eyes still closed and the mist still clinging to her eyelashes,

"Try it Torrent. You'll enjoy it." She smiled but did not look back to see if he had heard her, only continued to let the droplets cool her hot face.

With out questioning Torrent raised his eyes toward the branches and felt the frosty vapor wash over him, a shiver stole down his spine and his constant smile widened even more so. Ann opened her eyes and looked back at him,

"Nice?" He only nodded wile still looking skyward, she smiled and stood next to him and they stood together as the morning mists washed over them. A very impatient looking Jester however broke the moment with a sharp remark,

"If you two are quite done playing around in the rain, may we continue?" Her arms where crossed and each word was laced heavily with sarcasm.

"Oh, give us a break would you Sparks? Some of us aren't incorporeal creatures and need to rest every now and then." Ann objected to Alice's complaint but opened her eyes and continued forward down the trail none the less. Torrent only continued smiling as always, obviously refreshed by the mist, and followed Ann toward Sparks.

"Well if we weren't forced to continuously stop so the both of you can sleep or eat, we could have reached my master a long time ago." Alice the jester said this in more of a matter of fact kind of way rather then in an accusatory manner.

"Well if _someone_ had allowed our leader to come along we could have simply flown the whole way." This comment by Ann however was very accusatory.

"But you forget. I am nothing more then a projection of my master's consciousness. I can teleport to her side at will. I am guiding you out of the grace of my own heart." The jester's nose rose a little higher in the air when she finished her statement. Ann opened her mouth wide to voice another hostile comment but Torrent hand touched her left shoulder and she stopped mid sentence,

"Thank you Alice, we don't mind the walk… its quite nice." The truth was that Ann and Torrent didn't mind their time alone together. The jester was constantly leaving because of her master wanting to be updated and left the two of them alone quite often, it was like old times. Spark's seemed to pick up on this and raised one eye brow as she spoke,

"Quite… in any case we shall be reaching my master within the day and she is expecting us so if we could keep moving?" Torrent smiled and nodded politely, this caused Sparks to smile and the group continued.

The path looked much like a game trail, overgrown, unkempt, and winding up large hills and into deep valleys. The going was tough but Ann had spent the enough time keeping up with Torrent to make this trail look like a paved sidewalk. The three would chat about subjects related to the current problems and subjects that weren't connected in any way. Sparks seemed very interested in any information about Beast Boy, and each time she found out something new she would disappear and go off to inform her master. The jester also refused to give either Torrent or Ann any information regarding her creator, no matter how many times they would ask her. Each time she would respond, 'Wait, and the master will explain everything." This response often infuriated Ann but her anger would not loosen Alice's lips. Now was no different, regardless of how close they where, so the three teens walked in silence. Sparks looked strait ahead, Ann starred at her feet to avoid tripping over the numerous tree roots, and Torrent constantly looked around at the changing scenery; seemingly fascinated in each tree, leaf or stick. Ann would laugh each time they reached a cliff or a large hill and Torrent would be astounded with the beautiful scenery that lay before him, she had spent years with this boy and even with the added benefit of physic powers, he still managed to amaze her every day. Suddenly, however, Torrent stopped in his enthusiastic examination of the life around him and froze in place. Ann halted as well and asked him,

"What is it Torrent?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. His mussels had become tense with anticipation. Alice stopped as soon as she noticed that the others had, she turned around with her lip protruding outward and her hands on her hips. The jester opened her mouth to object about the unnecessary pause when she noticed to look on Ann's face.

"What's wrong?" Alice asked Ann with sudden concern.

"Torrent's heard something he doesn't like… I think something might be following us." As if to confirm Ann's suspicion, Torrent slowly turned to face the winding trail behind them.

The trail was empty and Ann could hear nothing. Torrent let out a low growl from deep within his throat. He obviously had sensed a presence and his abilities where much keener then any normal humans. So Ann continued to scan the silent forest behind them. Birds chirped and the wind whistled through the trees but no malevolent being showed itself from behind any of the twisting trees. Sparks walked back and stood next to them and watched as well. The two girls where blindly skimming each possible hiding place with there eyes, but Torrent looked directly ahead with his nose flaring and his ears twitching as he used each of his senses to detect the on coming threat. After several minutes of silence passed Alice got fed up,

"Ok, are you two satisfied? No one is…" Torrent stood quickly and grabbed at something in the air directly in front of the jesters face. She was so surprised that she stopped speaking and starred cross eyed at the hand three inches in front of her face. Torrent slowly turned and opened his hand revealing its hidden contents. Ann stepped closer to look at what Torrent had snatched in mid flight. Torrent did not look; his eyes remained on the forest. A slightly smashed red bladed object that slightly resembled a bird sat in the palm of Torrents large hands. It was Alice, who recognized it,

"That's just like the one that Robin carries!" Ann looked at her with a blank stare; the name obviously did not ring a bell. "He's the guy that Torrent fought last time when I was with you, the leader of the Titans!"

Ann smiled in recognition and opened her mouth to say something but was cut short when several balls struck the ground around them and exploded, sending splinters of wood and chunks of rock flying every where. Torrent, Ann and Sparks covered their faces while the shrapnel flew about them. Torrent was the first to get hit, out of the smoke flew a dark figure with a glowing orange spot in its chest. It struck him hard across the face with its right fist then spun and hit with its right heel. Torrent flew into the underbrush, knocked unconscious.

The smoke cleared and the figure turned to face the two girls. It was robin, but he no longer wore his brightly colored red uniform. A black jumpsuit covered in metal armor plates had replaced it. The mask remained and the belt was a different color but it was unmistakably Robin. Alice was about to call out to him when she saw what glowed at the center of his chest, it was a control disk. Sparks grasped Ann by the shoulder and shook her until she turned to face her,

"I'm going for help. Don't die." Ann almost had enough time to tell her to wait, but she vanished into a puff of smoke to quickly and Ann was left alone.

Robin smiled and pulled an extendable staff from his belt, he twirled it a little as he slowly approached Ann. She was frantically looking around for any way to escape but saw nothing. Robin raised the staff over his head and prepared to strike. Ann focused on the staff and closed her eyes, nothing struck her. When she opened them the staff was levitating in the air and Robin was still furiously attempting to strike her with it. It was Ann's turn to smile. She struck out at Robin with her newly acquired floating weapon. He raised his hands just in time to defect his own staff from hitting him between the eyes. Ann concentrated as Robin wagged war against his flying staff, it stuck at him and he Surprising strength and accuracy. The weapon began to move with such speed that it burred and whistled as it swung through the air. Breaking Robin's defenses it struck the boy wonder across the face. The blow knocked him to his knees, Ann stopped the dancing staff and stepped forward, suddenly concerned if he was injured.

Robin made his move the moment Ann let her guard down; he flung his leg outward and swept the feet out from under her. Ann caught her self with her power just before she stuck the hard earth. Without pausing Robin delivered another hard swift kick at her chest. She cried out and was flung backward, but once again grabbed herself before she stuck a tree. Robin jumped and attempted to place a flying kick between Ann's eyes. Instantly Ann grabbed Robin in mid-air, he looked surprised. Ann raised her hands, sweat was running down her face, she had never used her gift for this long at one time. Violently dropping her hand Ann slammed robin repeatedly against the ground, the trees and the rocks. She started to scream as all the anger and frustration came out, beads of perspiration covered every inch of her body and her skull felt as if it was on the urge of splitting in two. Then her strength gave out and Robin fell from her grip, he hit the ground broken and motionless. Ann herself fell to the ground the weight of the fatigue becoming too much. The cold earth felt good against her hot skin. Her eyes flickered and she teetered at the edge of sleep and awareness.

After several moments, a confused and stunned Torrent slowly stumbled out from the bushes. He saw the resting Ann on the ground and his smile returned. Walking over to her he brushed the small leaves and twigs from his clothing. He kneed at her side, then lay next to her and looked in to her tired eyes. Ann smiled and spoke to him,

"Hi… I did it. He was hard though." Torrent just smiled and looked at her. Then his eyes twitched and he quickly sat up again. "What? What is it?"

"He wasn't alone." The look of accomplishment melted from Ann's face and she too sat up. The forest was silent for a while, and then Ann heard the noise too. The steady clank of mechanical parts began to echo through the branches of the old trees.


	20. Spider

Spider

Each stone on the ground shook and leaves fell from the trees. It was as if the forest it self felt the evil coming and was trying to uproot itself to get away. Torrent stood his eyes flashing around wildly in search of the source of the thunderous crashing. The noise seemed to come from every direction, and whatever the adversary was, it gave off no smell. With no sound or smell, the approaching threat where invisible to Torrents powerful senses. Ann attempted to stand at Torrent's side but stumbled from the fatigue given to her by Robin in battle and fell forward. Torrent spun and caught her arm as she tripped, and then lifting her over one shoulder he carried her to a small crater dug into the side of a small hill by one of Robin's explosives. He set her within the protective position and turned to defend her from the approaching foes.

The first of them crashed into view. It was obviously mechanical, but its body was stained black instead of silver. A single orange eye glowed within its head, and long claws shone at the end of each arm. Multiple, long, sharp, spider like legs held it aloft from the ground. Torrent saw it before it was able to spot Torrent. He studied it with his keen eyes and began to use his ability to estimate what the creature was capable of. Then it saw him, its glowing eye locking on to his position. The mechanical spider lunged forward with frightening speed, its clawed hands out stretched preparing to rip at its victim's throat. Torrent stood in front of Ann unshaken by the furious charge, only seconds passed before the motorized beast was within jumping distance of Torrent and Ann. It pounced as nimbly as any carnivorous cat Torrent had ever seen toward them. The air whistled around its sharp talons as the distance from them to Torrent's throat closed, and still he remained motionless. Then at the last possible instant, Torrent dived, not away but directly at the black machine. As if surprised the machine froze for almost a second when it landed, unsure where its target had vanished to. Torrent need no larger of a window to place his attack. With two fingers he struck upward into the things "neck". The thin metal broke and the inner wiring crackled as Torrent ripped them apart. He stepped away as the Spider began to convulse in malfunction induced death thrashes. No explosion followed, it simply froze mid convulsion and its orange eyes slowly faded and became a blank socket. Ann was shocked in how easily Torrent had disposed of the strange black machine, she was even about to let out a compliment when she realized that the rumbling of the forest had not stopped. She reached out into Torrent's mind and sought out his thoughts, what she heard caused shock to cover her face, "A scout."

The trees and bushes surrounding them where suddenly torn apart as dozens of swift black shadows charged toward them. Torrent stood at their center beside Ann and smiled back at the looming horror surrounding him. With a flick of his foot he sent Robin's discarded staff that lay on the ground next to him into the air he caught it in one hand and spun it around several times, then caught it under one arm pit. As if shocked by this display of expertise the spiders suddenly faltered and began to form a circle around the crater Torrent defended. His eyes flashed from one machine to the next, these where different from the one he had destroyed. Armor plates covered every inch of their bodies and long sword like appendages extended from their forearms. The clatter as the long spider legs crashing through the under growth around them slowly dulled down until complete silence ruled over the forest again. Torrent was the only thing moving, he swiveled his body continuously as he observed each of his foes individually, waiting for one to move. The armored spiders however where frozen still. No sound came from the dark assembly, until a stark mechanical sounding voice seemed to imitate from every creature simultaneously.

"Surrender, so that we may take you to our master." The unexpected statement astonished Torrent and Ann. Ann was moved to almost a point of panic, then she heard Torrent laughing. She glared at him, but still he smiled at giggled at the demand as if it was perfectly normal to chuckle over death threats. The laugh had a tinge of insanity laced within its joy. Ann had always known the Torrent had been slightly strange in the head, caused by his strange gift to quickly learn in battle, but as he mocked their potential killers now she truly questioned his sanity.

One of the spiders, as if offended by the exhibit of disrespect lunged forward at Torrent's back. He immediately stopped laughing, though his smile still remained, and stuck out with his acquired weapon without even glancing behind him. The orange eye at the center of the creatures face was crushed. It screamed a mechanical wail and gripped at its blinded puncture wound. Spinning Torrent struck the machine across the face with such force that its head was torn free from its neck. No death thrashes followed, the black spider simply crumpled to its knees before Torrent and died. The others reacted by pulling their heads back toward their bodies, shielding there vendible necks.

Another two of the spiders disconnected from the group to assault Torrent. He swiped at the head of the first but his blow deflected and only achieved sparks as it clacked off the tick metal hide of his enemy. From behind him he heard the second spider charging with its sword held out like a spear. Torrent jumped upward and spun in the air into a flip, landing neatly atop the spider's shoulders. It's blade that had been intended for its enemy's spinal cord found itself buried deep within its ally's chest. Before it could even retract its weapon from its accidental victim Torrent forced his staff into the crease in the armor at its shoulder joint. Bracing the pole against his shoulder, Torrent wrenched as hard as he could tearing the arms free of the rest of its owner's body. After hopping nimbly off his foes back, Torrent plunged his hand deep in to the open wound he had created and ripped out a large handful of wires. They fell together, both of the newly slaughtered spiders landed at his feet. The others watched and began to change again, long sharp spines extended out of each of their backs, preventing any skyward assaults.

Three came this time. The first attack he dodged and rolled the aggressors legs. The rest lowered their undersides closer to the ground. He spun and stuck as hard as he could into where the machines spine would and been, the attack successfully cut power to two of the creature's six legs. The others grew more spines down that crease on their backs. Slowly the crippled spider turned to face its target, only to be met by a flurry of blows to the face from Torrents staff. One of his swipes struck its target and broke the single eye into a shower of glass. Each of the others motorized eyes was then slowly incased by a focusing metallic plates. Torrent pushed the rod deeper into the spider's emotionless electric brain, causing instant death. The creatures remaining limbs fell limp at its side. Torrent ripped his weapon free of its skull, scattering the ground with small pieced of metal.

The other two came, swinging their blades wildly and clawing at the air in every direction. Torrent ran directly at the storm of shinning edges and planted the end of his pole into a crack in the ground, pole-vaulting over the pair's heads, barely clearing the newly grown spikes on their backs. Before they had time to turn Torrent landed and placed his pole beneath one of the machines backside. He quickly used his weapon as a leaver and flipped the unsuspecting machine forward onto its face. Punching through the soft metal of the spider's underbelly he grasped even more inner hardware and tore it free. Torrent suddenly felt cold metal sink into his right bicep. The other spider had sunk its long blade into the flesh on his arm and was preparing to devastate the rest of Torrent's dominant limb. He fell backwards, removing the black blade from the wound before the spider could rip the muscle free from the bone. The moment his head struck the ground the black robot stuck down with one of its multiple legs barley missing his neck. Torrent rolled as more leg attacks stuck the ground all around him. He rolled into his staff on the ground and grabbed in with his intact left arm. The next leg strike was defected back with the metal rod, the rebound time allowed enough of a window for Torrent to get to his feet with a quick flip. The mechanical monster lashed outward with a frantic outburst, its blades slashing wildly at Torrent. He stood in the direct path of the blur of glinting steel and prepared his staff in one hand. The first blow he attempted to block directly but with only his one arm the creature was to strong for him. Another came quickly after the first, this time Torrent merely deflected it letting the blade glance off the side of the staff. Sparks flew and metal clashed together as Torrent continued to repel the spider's blades back. Then in a massive, double bladed attack the Machine struck down, breaking the rod in two. Torrent saw the newly sharpened edge of his broken weapon and shoved its serrated point deep into his assailant's chest. It began its death throws and Torrent pushed it away, so not to be caught within the thrashing points.

He held his wounded arm and looked up at the multitude of black enemies, and then he looked down at the exhausted Ann. He didn't want her to sense his mounting feeling of hopelessness within his mind, but he knew that she did, he could see it on her face. The flow of adapting black machines surrounding them seemed endless. Torrent stood at their core injured and weaponless. Ann staggered to her feet and stood at Torrents side with her fists raised. Torrent assumed a marshal stance and prepared for the next wave to come.

A whirring sound, similar to that of the spinning cannon mounted on the helicopter they had found back at the underground lab, suddenly echoed from down the path past the monsters. Both Ann and Torrent turned their heads to see its source, but the wall of black machines blocked what chance they had of seeing anything. Without warning a stream of bright blue pulses of energy ripped though the black mass of spiders. This time as the spiders fell, explosions followed. Three fell and burst into violent flames, then five, and eight. The remaining spiders quickly turned to the forest and retreated, another fell to the blue bullets as it ran. When the smoke cleared and Torrent could be seen covering Ann with his body and arms, he squeezed her tight. Slowly, after no more spiders came, he let her loose and looked up to see what had come to their rescue. A large, silver man stood down the path. His left arm, witch seemed to have been replaced with a large gun of some kind, was smoking. Most of his body in fact had been replaced with shinning metallic armor. The one part of his body that retained its humanity was the upper left portion of is head. Four large silver cylinders grew from his back and his left eye glowed red. He was a Cyborg, and to his left stood Sparks the jester. She noticed that Torrent had spotted her and spoke up,

"Told ya I'd bring help! Now come on, the master is waiting."


	21. Beast

Beast

The water rippled like white, living glass. As the water fell it let out a continuous sheet of water vapor. The spray struck the faces of the constricting circle of men. Each soldier strained their eyes against the waters to catch a glimpse of the thing that hid in the blackness beyond the falls as they cautiously approached. Whatever had let looses the inhuman cry from within that black cavern had become now eerily silent, and each soldier felt as if a pair of cold eyes where watching from back through sheet the falling water. Inch by inch the men drew closer to the falls, and with every step their hearts began to beat more frantically. A sudden snap judgment came into the leaders mind and he signaled the troop to stop. The last thing he wanted to do was walk in to an ambush, so he walked out onto the rocks in the flowing stream alone. He would flush whatever it was out into the open. After positioning him self directly before the wall of crashing liquid he raised his gun to fire.

It looked as if the falls themselves exploded outward to grasp him, like a great liquid mouth yawning open to swallow the horrified man whole. But even before the water could reach him, the leader hit his knees and let his gun fall. The others saw blood spray as their leader fell clutching his throat as blood poured through the gaps in his fingers and down his shirt. Several feet past the man on his knees stood the green creature, knee deep in steam water. Its shoulders rose and fell as deep breaths where taken in by the Beast. Long black hair ran down past its large moving shoulders, and even longer spines grew outward from stripes down its back and arms. The lower half of it arms however had been replaced by blood stained black blades and his legs where like those that would belong to a wolf. Then as the green figure turned to face them, the men watched in horror as the blades withdrew back into the stripes, the arms became arms once more, and its legs formed back into their former state; and all that stood before them was the body of a young green teenager. The hair was still long and the black stripes still covered the monsters body but now it seemed only to be only a young green boy.

The leader of the men collapsed into the stream, his red blood dieing its clear waters crimson. The red streak of water flowed past the rocks and snaked around the ankles of the green boy. The monster stood in the life fluid and glared back at the men cowering before him, still breathing heavily. The click of a grenade into a barrel mounted grenade launcher caught the beast's attention. When the soldier raised his gun to fire his green target looked up at him, locking eye contact. The solid white eyes of the boy narrowed in to a deeper glare and his lips curled away from his sharp, white teeth into a snarl. The white eyes seemed to pierce through the soldiers mind and his trigger finger froze. Every mussel on the boy's body twitched in a moment of effort and the blades instantly formed once again. The grenade launcher barrel shook violently from the trebling of its owner's hand, and then the soldier squeezed his eyes shut to avoid the glare of those white eyes and fired the explosive. The arm blades widened into double black shields and Beast Boy held them out in defense. The grenade exploded against the black barrier and a white wave of water containing fragments of rock and dirt within its mass rose into the air before the falls. While the men covered their eyes to ward away the spray of shrapnel Beast Boy returned his arms to blades and lunged forward.

It rained scarlet water from the cloudless sky as the wave separated into small droplets of bloody liquid over their heads. As soon as grenadier opened his eyes he saw the beast flying at him, but even then it was too late. The long black blade pierced him through the chest, ripping through armor, skin and bone. From his hands the launcher fell into the flowing stream as he slowly lifted his hands and grasped Beast Boy arm that was implanted in him. One of the other men let out a cry of rage as he saw his comrade die, and began to spray the air in the direction of Beast Boy. Almost three shots flew past, but then before the third could ignite within the combustion chamber the gun was shattered into a spray of small metallic pieces from a slice of Beast Boys blade. The other black blade found its way into the owner's chest; he spit up blood then fell limp. Then the others began to fire. Bullets flew into the water of the falls and cracked off the wet rock. Beast Boy ripped his arm free of the dead mans ribcage and dashed to the left, dodging the hail of flying lead. He rolled swiftly into the trees, then dashed through the brush and circled around the group of men. He sprinted so quickly, the men continued firing where he had entered the forest. They where oblivious that the target the where trying to hit was about to flank them from the rear.

The first man Beast Boy struck was peering intensely forward, searching for his green target in a sea of dark green woods ahead of him. A snapping branch caused him to glance over his shoulder. Before he could even register what he saw, his head was pierced through by a sharp black point and his gun fell to the soft grass. The blades shrunk back into their original arm appearance, though the blood stains remained upon Beast Boys hands. His fingers began to change into long black claws. The blades on his back stiffened upwards like the short hairs on the back of a dog's neck as he charged the backs of the remaining eight soldiers. Two of the men stood besides one another, still strafing the patch of forest where Beast Boy had stood seconds ago. In two rapid ripping motions Beast Boy tore each of their jugulars open simultaneously, and then before their guns stopped firing into the air the green boy tackled another on to the ground. The others heard his screams and halted in their fire long enough to look over their shoulders and see the thing that they where trying to shoot crouching atop one of their comrades behind them amidst the slain bodies of their remaining allies. The man under Beast Boys clawed feet struggle futilely to crawl away, the green boy snarled and opened his mouth large enough to show his long sharp teeth gleam white then bit down on the crawling man neck. He ripped free a chunk of flesh as spat it aside, then stood from his victim side. Beast Boy glared at the remaining six and his tongue ran across the top row of his teeth, wiping clean the blood and revealing the unnaturally white K-9's beneath.

All but two of the rest ran back into the woods toward the road. The remaining two held their guns more like shields then weapons, and for a moment none moved. Then, in an instant, Beast Boys legs became that of a wolf's again and he dashed forward. Bullets hummed past his ears and struck the ground all around him. The brief spurt of fire echoed through the branches of the forest, and then each stopped instantaneously. The guns had been stapled to the men's chests. A long blade impaled the two men as well as the weapons they carried. Beast Boy let them hang in the air until they stopped struggling the set them to the ground. A mist of red intermixed with shredded scrap metal was torn free as he wrenched his arms from the gasping men's chests. Once his now human hands free he stood. He saw the running men in the distance, and considered giving chase, and then he remembered the cars. After closing his eyes, Beast Boy listened closely for the sound of his fleeing prey deep in the dark woods.

The snap of dead limbs breaking as the men crashed clumsily through the undergrowth was the first sound he heard, then the short panicky breaths sucked in by each terrified man, then the swift beating hearts within each of their chests, and finally he heard a pair of voices originating near the cars where the men where running. The two heart beets from where the cars sat conversed and Beast Boy heard them.

"But my general, now that he is awake then what will we…"

"Don't worry my child, I was counting on this."


	22. Boy

Boy

Hunter leaned against the door of his armored car, puffing at a cigar and looking into the woods beside the dirt road. The scars on his face where fully healed, but they still gave a revolting twist to his appearance. In the hand that wasn't clutched around the cigar held a radio. Through the speaker, screams on fear and agony blared forth. Next to Hunter and atop the car sat Type B, her eyes where locked on the boisterous radio and the cry's that issued forth. She didn't seem concerned, only interested. Hunter seemed to notice her interest and spoke to her,

"What is it my child?" He even pulled the cigar from between his teeth to voice his concern at her displeasure.

"That doesn't sound like anything that Beast Boy could do to anyone." Hunter nodded with understanding then returned the cigar to its usual location.

"No, it shouldn't. This means that our little experiment is working, and the darker half of your Beast Boy is now in control."

"You said that we where to come and retrieve his sleeping body and bring him home, but now that he is awake what will we…" Hunter waved his hand to cut her off,

"Don't worry my child, I was counting on this." Before Type B could voice her shock and displeasure of the fact that this turn of events had been planned four men burst free from the trees and staggered out on to the road. Hunter raised one eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the ragged survivors. One staggered forward and addressed the sneering General.

"Sir the beast is fully awake and violent, the rest of our team is dead back at the falls, Sir. What should we do Sir?" Hunter took a significantly long time considering what to do, he puffed at his cigar and starred skyward as if waiting for a thought to come to him. Then he turned to stepped back into his car and spoke from over his shoulder to the distraught men.

"If he wants a chase, then we'll give him one. Get in that other car and take point." After giving this order Hunter placed the cigar back between his teeth and rolled up his black tinted window. The men knew better then to question and ran to the armored car ahead of Hunter's and slammed their doors shut. The wheels spun and the convoy lurched forward on the gravel road. Hunter and Type B sat casually in the back as the cars flew full speed down the unkempt path.

Type B sat across from Hunter studying his face intently, he glanced up and thought he almost saw anger in his eyes… but that would have been impossible.

"What is it now?"

"How do you know he'll follow us?" Her eyes looked as if she was glaring at him. Hunter chuckled,

"Trust me, I know." he gestured toward the car ahead of them, "Sit up front a while and keep your eyes on those boys."

She reluctantly turned and crawled into the passenger seat leaving Hunter alone in the back. The driver glanced at her and opened his mouth to try to make conversation but a malicious glare shot in his direction cut his attempt short. The Terra clone leaned forward and rested her elbows on the dashboard and her chin in her hands. She could hardly see the car ahead of them through the kicked up dirt but she watched its tail lights dutifully, regardless of how pointless it seemed.

Type B had begun to feel strange things happening to her mind as of late, strange emotions. This sudden loathing toward her master and the distaste she felt from his actions was something she had never thought possible before. The things he had planed for her Beast Boy made her insides twist into knots of concealed loathing. Their was another feeling that confused her, the feeling that burned like a hot poker in the center of her chest, but was as close to ecstasy as she had ever been. Thoughts of her green boy made her eyes slowly drift away from the car and up to the blue sky. Day dreams where about to envelope her when she saw a blur of movement to the right of the convoy. Matching the speed of the cars she saw her beast darting between the trees like a streak of green paint across a brown canvas. For a moment Type B was too shocked to speak, and in that moment the Beast struck the first car.

Beast Boy hurtled himself sideward toward the flank of the heavily armored car, midair his left shoulder sharpened into a long hard ramming spike. The tip pierced the bulletproof plating to create a hole only several inched in diameter, but the force of the blow sent the car waving out of control. It looked as if the car would topple off the road and into the trees as it teetered atop two wheels, but then it miraculously fell upon off fours once again. The diver began shouting something to Hunter in the back seat, but Type B wasn't listening, she was too fixated on the scene before her.

Still clutching to the side Beast Boy road the swerving vehicle flawlessly, he gripped with his hand into the small hole he had created in the side plating and ripped the entire plate free. The large hunk of metal was tossed aside and clacked off the plastic windshield of Type B's car. More and more metallic shrapnel was cast into the air as Beast Boy's clawed hands tore deeper into the belly of the armored creature. A shot was fired and a bullet snapped past Beast Boy's left ear, he stopped digging and raised his arm just in time to deflect a fully automatic burst. One hand was dug into the side paneling of the car keeping him anchored down and the other had become a thick, carapace looking shield that seemed to be impervious to gun fire. Hunter was barking orders to the nervous driver but they passed over Type B's ears unheard, she was transfixed with shock as she saw her gentle Beast Boy struggle against the small armored tank. There was a half a second pause in the constant wall of fire that was reflecting off her Beast Boy's shield, as if the gunman had stopped to reload. It provided a window of opportunity that he exploited, he was in the hole he gap his had torn in the side of the car the instant the cover fire paused. The already out of control car began to swerve even more violently and the windows flashed in small bursts of light as he attacked the men inside. The screams and gunfire where audible even through the car's thick armor plating, at long last the car swerved to sharply and flung itself on its side and slowly skidded to a stop. Type B closed her eyes and looked away from the slaughter that had taken place before her. Then the back doors of the car erupted and a single soldier burst forward, his eyes where wide and he was coated in red liquid. He turned to make a break for the woods but before his feet could carry him away from his nightmare a green blur pounced from within the dark reassesses of the empty shell of the car. Long black claws gripped his neck and wrenched the man's head clear of his body.

The driver sitting next to Type B was struggling to put the car in reverse when Hunter spoke again,

"No, stay here… I need to speak to my new child." The driver looked back at his commander as if he had gone completely out of his mind,

"But, sir, that thing just killed…" Hunter opened his door and stepped out before the man could completely issue out his obvious statistical objection.

Beast Boy was panting in what was more likely rage then exhaustion, his body rippled as sharp blade manifested themselves from his flesh then receded back into the depths of his body. The only part of Beast Boy's person that was not under a constant state of metamorphosis was the metallic collar encircling his neck, with its orange disks pulsating as if running low on power. A deep red stain began to pool at Beast Boys feet as blood dripped down his bare form and seeped into the gravel. Hunter puffed casually on his cigar and strolled up to where Beast Boy stood, he removed it to speak but the green and red figure did not give him the chance, he dashed forward screaming in rage as yet more razors extended from his limbs. Just before his blades reached Hunters jugular the orange disks imbedded into Beast Boys neck pulsed in a violent flash, and the green boy convulsed in pain and recoiled down to his knees. Hunter smiled, pleased as he saw his creation cower away from him, then he spoke.

"You turned out… haven't you little one?" He spoke to him as you would a small child, "Big and strong. You need a few lessons in humility but that can be arranged for latter. But for now I just need you to come with me." He held his cigar in his teeth and pulled a small remote from his military jacket pocket.

He raised it up toward the boy on his knees before him but just before his finger fell Beast Boy lashed out with one sharpened arm. The remote was sliced in two, along with Hunters hand. This time it was Hunter's turn to scream in pain and recoil back. The stinging in his head receded and Beast Boy regained control of his body, and then lost it again to his own anger. He lurched forward and gripped Hunter around the neck as he still clung to his ruined hand. Beast Boy began to grow in size and slowly lifted Hunter's feet from the ground. The general gagged and sputtered as his windpipe was constricted smaller and smaller. Beast Boy's glowing white eyes glared up at his hanging tormentor. A single question hissed through his clinched teeth as he squeezed the life from his prey.

"Why? You fucking _bastard_, why?" But he did not relinquish his hold to allow a response, nor would he have cared for one. The only thing he wanted from this man was death. Then just before the life was crushed out from Hunters body the passenger side door of the car Beast Boy stood before opened.

His eyes grew wide and the dieing man slipped from his fingers. Type B slowly stepped forward her eyes brimming with tears and her hands crossed over her heart. Beast Boy slowly shrank back down to his original height the closer she came. She looked older, as he suspected he did as well. His shock and disbelief gave way to joy, and the horrors of the last hour faded from Beast Boy's mind as he dashed forward and took his Terra up into his arms. She wrapped her arms about his neck and the tears flowed freely, this new emotion that was coursing through her was too much to handle. They held each other for what would have been days, had the thing that hovered above them stayed silent. With their eyes still half closed Type B and Beast Boy looked upward, to see a young girl floating above them on a large rock.


	23. Whisperer

Whisperer

"So I take it he doesn't hold a grudge." Ann cautiously eyed the mechanical Golem walking at the point of the group. Sparks smiled and shook her head.

The still unconscious Robin was draped over one of Cyborg's gigantic shoulders; the limp figure looked insignificant as it slowly swung ever so slightly with each step of the living monolith. In the long shadow of the hulking mass staggered Torrent, who was followed by Ann and Sparks. One of Torrents hands gripped as tightly as the pain could allow around the open and bleeding wound through his arm. Screams of pain where caged behind his gritted teeth, as he tried as best he could to mask his anguish from the others. A few steps behind Ann watched his suffering, her mind touched his and she could feel his pain just as well as he could. Every inch of herself wanted to run forward and take his arm over her shoulders to help bare his burden, but if she where to try to help, Torrent would simply wave her off and refuse assistance in fear of showing weakness. So all she could do was watch and hope they would reach their destination soon. Turning to Alice, Ann asked how close they where.

"Oh, it won't be long now. Cyborg would not have ventured from home if it we weren't close by." Ann looked puzzled so Sparks explained further, "Well you see Cyborg was recently extremely damaged in an attack on Titans Tower and he was forced to basically do a complete overhaul on himself, those large cylinders you see protruding from his back are what gather the life giving energy from the world around him. It makes it so he doesn't need a charger any more, but the amount of juice he has to spare isn't as much as it once was. Instead of recharging he spends long hours of meditation out in the wild, gathering energy."

Ann nodded and fainted interest, but her eyes kept glancing forward toward the bleeding boy marching doggedly forward before her. Deep red blood flowed from between his fingers, over the metal strapped to his arm, and dripped from his fingertips to the hard earthy path. Sparks did not notice Ann's distraction and continued on her monologue.

"The gun on his arm fires short blasts instead of a continuous stream, it conserves energy and is just as effective, except his arm can no longer transform back into a useable limb. He's also lost so much organic material he's lost all ability to speak, and he is too proud to except one of those voice emulator things. I'd do the same thing, man those this make you sound like your talking with a… oh here we are." The party completed a tight bend in the path and came to a dead end of solid foliage.

"Where, there's nothing here but a…" Ann stopped herself as she saw Sparks step forward and wave her and through the air, almost immediately the branches and vines cleared to reveal the yawning mouth of a dark cave. Sparks looked back at a surprised Ann and smiled,

"It's dark and cold but its home."

Exhausted from exertion and blood loss Torrent finally fell, he landed face first in a cloud of lose top soil. Ann rushed forward and lifted his face from the dirt, then cradling his head in her arms touched his forehead to hers. Sparks and Cyborg watched as Ann felt Torrents mind, when she looked up her face was grim.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Ann gazed back down at the closed eyes of her injured Torrent. Sparks motioned toward Cyborg,

"Grab him would you, looks as if we're going to have two gimps to take care of tonight." Cyborg bent over and lifted Torrent from Ann's arms and draped him over his other shoulder, and then bore him into the cave. Ann hastily followed keeping a watchful eye on her damaged wild boy.

The moment the ceiling of stone cut the sun's warm touch from Ann's skin a sharp chill ran down into her bones. The metallic giant and the jester walked into the void with the confidence a blind man would step off a cliff. Ann, however felt the eyes watching her from all the shadows. She walked slowed and with more caution, but for her lack of hast Ann was soon alone. The steps of Cyborg echoed from all around as if they where issuing from the walls themselves. Then they stopped abruptly and there was nothing in the shadows that wrapped about Ann's senses.

Then a voice came, not an echo, but a whisper, right nest to her ear. _Who are you?_ Ann jumped and frantically reached out with her mind attempting to grasp who had startled her. Laughter preceded Ann's failure to find her tormentor, followed by another whisper. _A physic? Very amusing, tell me girl are you with my friends or are you simply following them? Be careful when you answer Ann, I can tell when you lie._ But Ann didn't respond she simply hugged her body for shelter against the bitter prick of cold hanging in the motionless air of the cave and continued to struggle to find the whisperer. Then the voice returned. _Oh… forgive me Ann. I mistook you for an agent of our enemy, he has many of our kind in servitude. _The apology concluded and the chill in the air seemed to melt away and the shadows retreated back. As the darkness receded Ann saw figures in gloom form in front of her, Robin and Torrent set across individual stone tables, Sparks watching with interest, Cyborg standing resolute, a strange floating young red head and then she saw the whisperer form from the retreating shadows themselves.

Large black wings materialized, wreathed by long flowing tatters of a dark blue cloak. Glowing eyes smoldered under the gloom of a large hood and Ann could feel the power within those eyes, a power that surpassed hers, an unrestrained power. A silence hung in the air for seconds until the exited sparks shattered it,

"Did she speak to you? Oh, that's cool isn't it? What was it like? It's different for everyone! My master really powerful isn't she? Man what did I tell…" the young girl the jester had addressed as master interrupted her servant,

"That will be enough Alice, you are dismissed." Sparks snapped her lips close, stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. The master looked up toward Ann again and addressed her, "My name is Raven, tell me Ann, is it true you know something of my Beast Boy?"


	24. Defiance

Defiance

The suspended earth gave way into fragments of rock and soil beneath Terra's feet and she fell. The shock had stripped the fragile control she had held over her power from her mind. In this haze of dust and gravel she spiraled downward with the image that haunted her nightmares clinging to the front her minds eye, _another_ _woman in Beast Boy's arms_. The woman had looked like her, but it couldn't have been so, it had been to many long years since she had felt his touch. The world around her felt like a cold lightless dream and all the same pains from that day so long ago in the forsaken and decaying carnival returned to haunt her. The loneliness and hopelessness was too much.

Then the cold and bitter word vanished and Terra was safe again, she was no longer falling but drifting peacefully downward. Warm strong arms wrapped around her in a shielding embrace. She no longer wanted to wake from her new dream, she wanted to stay here in those arms forever, but her eyes opened by them selves. The one she loved looked down into her teary blue eyes, and for an instant it was all worth it, all the pain and cruelty of the world was momentarily overwhelmed by the intensity of this one moment of bliss they found in each other. Beast Boy looked lost, confusion danced over his face; for he looked into the second pair of eyes that belonged to the girl he had lost long ago. Large green and black feathered wings that had grown from his shoulder blades, they carried them slowly to the earth. All she could do was stare with disbelief at the face that had filled her dreamed all those lonely cold nights under the stars. Beast Boys feet touched down upon the soft grass and the wings began to recede back into himself. Terra ran her hand across his chest to feel if he was truly holding her now, his flesh was warm apart from the cold black lifeless marks that striped his body. His hair flowed down past his shoulders and his eyes glowed white, but Terra saw her Boy in the Beast that held her. She studied one of the black blemishes on his green skin it felt hard and cold to the touch as she ran her finger across it.

"Beast Boy… what have they done to you?" She looked up to see his eyes again but he had averted them toward the ground in shame of what he'd become. She saw the cruel looking collar clinging to his neck and attempted to pull it free, but the metallic vice held fast. Beast Boy stooped and set Terra in the grass then turned back to the car.

Hunter was on his knees cradling his halved hand under his belly, he looked up as Beast Boy approached. He gritted his teeth and attempted to stand but faltered, collapsing down on to his one good hand. Two dark green bare feet stopped under his nose and turned to face him, Hunter looked up into glowing white eyes gleaming down at him. In an instant Hunter was off the ground and held aloft again, he dangled for a moment from his neck then plummeted down into the hood of the car he stood before. The metal bowed around the force of the blow and Hunter heard one of his ribs shatter under the intense pressure. A large, rippling, green arm held him down in the indentation he lay in. After a long moment of pain the firm grip of the hand about his neck reluctantly loosened. Hunter sucked in air, the coughed it out again mixed with blood.

"It takes every inch of my will to stop my self from tearing you apart." The body looming over him was in a constant state of change, small blades appeared and dissipated, mussels grew and shrank, and his hair waved as if alive; the pure abhorrence that the Beast gripping his neck held for him was replicated by his mortal shell. Hunter had the nerve to laugh at Beast Boy's malediction of hatred.

"No my boy, it takes all of your will to keep your own Body under the constraints of your free will. I know what you must be going through; your body aches to change, to release its rage, to transcend into madness. Why do you no just give in to the anger that is inside of you?" Hunter's eyes gleamed as if in awe of the destructive force hanging above his.

"Shut up! Some of us fight for a cause, not senseless hatred." Beast Boy pushed him down hard against the hood of the car and the metal creaked under the stress. "What did you do to us!" Hunter coughed blood again on to his clean uniform, then smiled as he responded,

"I set you free, both of you… cant you see that? You two where not like the other freaks hiding in that tower. There was power burning under your skin, and all I did was put it to use. It took a surprisingly little about of tampering with you to release your true potential. (_cough_) The collar is meant to keep you under my control, and I divided the girl simply because he was far too influential, but each of you has grown to the limit of my restraints, beautiful."

"How could you!" Type B screamed in blind rage, "How could you hurt _my_ Beast Boy like this! You're a monster!" Terra stood and walked to Type B's side.

"How could I not?" it seemed as if Hunter derived no fear from starring the distraught green Beast into his glowing eyes, "My enemies unwittingly held in their hands a weapon of unimaginable capacity and all I had to do was unlock it. And you are mine, make no mistake of that."

As if the words where some kind of trigger the orange disks within the collar ignited into a blaze of color. Beast Boy convulsed as a shock of pain surged through his body. He staggered away from the car and fell into Type B's and Terra's waiting arms. Type B glared up at the man she had once called father along with her former nemesis at her side. Hunter propped himself up on the car and spoke out as if making an address to a waiting crowd of media, "Your leash will never be loosened Beast Boy, you may be to powerful to be kept in a cage but you will still serve me weather you want to or not. As for you my daughters, you will run from the one you love with the rest of them, you have out lived my curiosity."

Beast Boy staggered to his feet, ripping at his neck restraint. Terra attempted to stand and help, but Type B held her and shook her head. Beast Boy clawed against the collar, sending out sparks as black talons scrapped across silver metal. Hunter watched with sadistic glee as his experiment writhed in agony at his feet, the green mass bristled with newly sprouted back spines, wings formed and died, limbs grew then faded away, through it all could be heard the inhuman snarl of Beast Boy screams as he tour into his own flesh to grip at the thing that was to force his hand. Then the mass slowed and faded back into itself revealing the boy beneath, a boy who had two firm grips placed about the nightmarish restraint. The smirk melted away from Hunters face. Beast Boy roared at the sky as he wrenched at the collar, at first the thing held but then it slowly began to give way. Through his body, through blood and bone he ripped it free. Bones broke and melded back together, flesh ripped and healed, and past the screams a deep rumbling of the ground was beginning to grow. With a final tug and a spray of his own blood into the air, Beast Boy pulled the entire collar through the last few painful inches of his neck. His defiant screams echoed for a moment through the trees then faded away into the deep rumble of the earth as the last of the scars faded away.


	25. Why

Why

"She really is alive… of my god."

A blue light illuminated Torrents face as Cyborg ran a scanner over his arm, the armor that platted his right arm had been replaced with bandages and the bleeding had stopped and consciousness was slowly rising to the surface. Ann sat at his side, holding his left hand in hers while Raven probed her for answers.

"Are you sure it was her or it was a clone."

"Look lady, I had no idea you had a history with our Terra, I don't care if she's a clone or not, she's the only Terra we've ever known. The last time we saw her she was fling of into the sunset to try and save this Beast Boy. Now I've told you all that I know and I think it's about time that you answered some of my questions." Raven sighed obviously not content with the information that Ann was able to provide but began a reluctant explanation of the events that had been transpiring in the world beyond the mountain where Ann had lived the majority of her life.

"The world began to devour its self not long after you and your friends vanished into the deep shadows of the mountains along with the newly surfaced Terra and Beast Boy. The general who acted as conductor of this twisted symphony is named Hunter; he gained power through the fear that festers at the center of all men. The fear of our kind gave Hunter enough political force to grant himself rights above the laws of morality. Almost every civilian group sided with his cause simply because they where scarred as well, Hunter would broadcast examples of gifted as violent and destructive in a daily show of propaganda across the airwaves. This friend of yours ripping his face up didn't help the situation, no matter how much the bastard deserved in.

"We were his first target, a surgical covert operation was sent out to take out Titans Tower. Beast Boy and I had just… well… let it be said that we where not available at the time. He left to find Terra, and my powers where currently undergoing a drastic state of change. Robin, Starfire and Cyborg where called away from the tower by Hunter himself to attack you three, for the sake of national security. While the inhabitants of the Tower where away, Hunter's strike team moved in and corrupted the towers security and defense systems. After the futile quarrel between yours and mine the Titans limped home to their safe haven. Robin was put in the infirmary and Cyborg went directly to his repair center. My poor friends did not in the least bit suspect that the world they had spent their young lives to protect was waiting at their door step calculating their annihilation.

"That very night, while Star slept and the others healed, the strike team struck. They where planning and killing Starfire and Cyborg in their sleep but they underestimated the spirit of my two friends. However the tower was demolished in a fiery explosion and Robin was taken captive. The already damaged Cyborg was nearly killed and Starfire was forced to flee with what remained on him rather then attempt to save our leader. Star found me here, I was, and still am attempting to once again quite my mind. We waited and watched for Robin to return to us while the city decayed into an autocracy of oppression and suffering almost overnight. Task forces where assembled to round up gifted and put them into camps, where they underwent inhuman experiments and horrid treatment. Several rescue attempts where put into action but they all ended in crippling failure. In a final act of defiance I gathered as many other free gifted as I could to wage war upon the cruelty besetting our kind. Then Robin came. He wore the sign of Hunter and bore his fag at the head of an army of mechanical beast engineered for the sole purpose of extinguishing our spark from the surface of this world."

Ann looked down at the boy in the black mask lying next to her with an even higher since of dread then when he had first attacked them, but when she looked into the green eyes of the young alien girl kneeling beside the fallen Robin she saw not dread reflecting in the tears running down her face but sorrow.

"The gifted resistance was crushed in a matter of minutes, by shear volume of opponents. Like a sea of blades they crashed into our lines, merciless and deadly. Their linked minds and advanced artificial learning drives based off of information gathered off of Torrent's ability rendered most of our powers a mute point; and when the dust cleared it was obvious that we had lost our chance at revolution. Those of us that did not die where captured or forced to flee into exile. Starfire and I used some of the technology off of the hunter killers to reconstruct Cyborg, with his technological expertise guiding us. Sadly we are basically all that is left of the free gifted in our world, Hunter had become far too powerful for us to destroy on our own.

"Hunter, you see, is very much interest in control. Witch is why he uses the harnessed powers of the gifted ageist us. For instance, he found records of a powerful physic child whose powers had not yet taken a form, and he wanted to wield that power as an energy source for some sort of machine he has constructed. He tried to track you down with every asset he could, but when he found you, you where snatched away again by a familiar antagonist. Your friend Torrent here met with Hunter before that day in the park." Ann interrupted Raven,

"How do you know that, you may be more powerful then me I know Torrents mind better then he does and he has no memory of this tyrant." Raven slowly and gently reached out and turned Torrent on his side and exposed the back of his neck to Ann. Burnt in to his skin was the faintest scar in the shape of a gagged H.

Ann was too shocked to speak as she reached out and caressed the long sense healed wound. Raven smiled at the obvious sign of affection and concern, "Many people block horrible memories from their minds, especially if they are at a young age when the even occurs." Cyborg abruptly halted in his analysis of Torrent and looked up at the two girls, Sparks materialized on one of his broad shoulders and spoke as if for him,

"Cy says that he's done, and that your boyfriend will be fine. He'll be a little week for a while from lack of fresh blood in his veins and he should avoid using his injured arm." Ann glared up at the jester perched on Cyborg.

"Since when are you a physic?" Alice smiled and hopped down to the ground,

"I'm not, my master is. We're connected." Raven confirmed this,

"As I gained enough control over my newly manifested abilities I created a familiar of sorts to act as my eyes beyond this cave, the girl you know as Sparks became my spectral ward. She also technically does not physically exist so she makes an ideal agent to spy on the enemy, this is how I found out about you three and Hunters interest in you."

Sparks turned to the kneeling Starfire and said, "Your boy's up next for the probing." Starfire watched eagerly as the blue light flowed up and down Robins still form. Ann turned back to Raven,

"There's something your not telling me isn't there." Raven looked up when Ann spoke to her.

"You are truly a gifted young girl Ann… and yes, there is one more thing I have found of Hunters exploits. Terra had long sense occupied the main focus of the organization's attempts of controlling the gifted, and I've found out why."


	26. Together

Together

Beast Boy teetered from one foot to the other then toppled to the earth. Terra dived forward and knelt at his side feeling at the point on his neck where the collar had once clung. There was no scar, not even the slightest indentation was left to indicate the presence of the collar that once clung to his green skin. Though blood, his blood, was now mingling with that of the dead soldiers in the sand of the road. Type B raised two glowing fists toward the shocked General sprawled out and bleeding on the hood of a wrecked armored car.

"Now it is your turn to suffer Hunter!" the stunned face looked up from the boy on the ground to his former ward,

"I must say… I am _very_ impressed. Such a feat of pure will I did not think possible, but the proof of the act lies at my feet." He gestured down at the discarded collar. "But in the end it only serves to prolong the inevitable, I suppose."

"I've long since grown tired of your incessant sermonizing, you die now and it prolongs nothing!" the shock faded and the smirk grew on the injured mans withered face,

"Then there nothing left to do then to cut my losses, and tie up you loose ends." A thundering instantly grew from the forest sprawled out aside each side of the road, as if the entire forest was racked in a death moan. Type B's hands dropped as a sea of blades materialized from the shadows under the canopies.

"You did not think I would risk this outing with out subsistent force did you?" Hunter raised his hands into the air like a composer at the head of a symphony as the metal spider's ring constricted closer. "The instruments formed for you destruction are here. The learning ability of Torrent, the skill of Robin, the strength of Starfire, the adaptability of Beast Boy, the technology of Cyborg. They have wiped the state clean of your kind and they will cut through you like paper. My creatures are blanketing the world finding and killing any that defy my will. You may have opposed my grasp for long enough, the others have fallen into submission. Even your leader, Robin, sits at the head of a legion of spiders to the north, but you three now face the army of a thousand blades captained by one of my genetic children." From the mass of sharp metal surrounding Terra, Type B and Beast Boy stepped a young boy who Terra had seen but once before.

His large collar covered his mouth and his eyes where blacker then bile. Terra gasped, it was the assassin that had attempted to kill her back at the underground lab. Ann had blown the circuit inside of his head and he had left. Ann saw that he now had a simple control disk implanted in his chest. Hunter must have recaptured the boy and place him under his thumb once again.

Type B's trust her hands downward violently and pushed the gravel at her feet outward with incredible force. The spiders raised their blade like arms to cover the glass of their single eyes from the speeding pebbles scratching the surface of their armor. John, the assassin, stood unmoving as the sharp rock bounced harmlessly off his hard skin. Following the burning rain of stone came a blinding cloud of dust and sand. Type B twirled her hands about her like a dancer upon a stage of earth and the cloud became a hurricane, rising into the air and consuming the army about them. At the eye of this cyclone stood the three adolescences protected by the ever moving walls encircling them. Type B turned and yelled back at her counter part crouching next to their love,

"Get him quickly, we can't win here!" The sound of her voice barely rose above the thundering of the winds about them, but Terra caught them.

With the few moments they had Terra quickly bent and took Beast Boy into her arms, she attempted to lift him in her arms but strained futilely. Unwillingly Beast Boys had condensed and increased greatly in weight. Terra could not tell exactly, but his body had increased in weight by over ten fold. Unable to move Beast Boy the option of flight instantly became impossible, Terra could not even move the earth that he rested on. Type B glanced back at Terra and Beast Boy,

"What's the…" The dark form of John leapt from through the curtain of sand and struck Type B across the jaw knocking her flat. The moment she struck the ground the protective whirlwind died away and the dust and gravel fell back to whence it came.

There was a pause as John stood over Type B while the mist of the dirt still hanging in the air settled slowly down. The spiders stood with their arms raised just as they had been when the cyclone began, then in unison every machine dropped its arms and shook the dust from its body. The ominous sound of the harmonious movement echoed in Terra ears sending a shiver down her spine. Type B groaned and attempted to stand, but John brought his foot down on her neck, pinning her painfully to the road. He drew the knife from his sheath and held it over her eyes. The orange disk in his chest pulsed and the knife began to slowly descend toward closer to Type B's pupil.

A rock about the size of a minivan slammed into John's face, knocking him from atop of Type B and sending him far into the distance. Terra's eyes burned yellow and her first smoldered with the glow of power as she stood defensively over the fallen Beast Boy. Shocked but relived Type B staged to her feet, she was about to thank Terra when a blur of movement caused her to turn. A spider hung inches away from her face in mid air when a spike of earth erupted from the ground and impaled it upon its self like a crucified criminal set out on display. The blade that was its arm still out stretched the spider twitched slightly as the light in its eyes faded away. Type B had only the time to turn when the others pounced. She twitched her hands upward in quick repartition bringing up spikes of her own to catch the automations in-flight. Others began to dash forward closely to the ground, Terra pushed her palm forward like a shove and summoned up a like of spear like rock shards to skewer the rushing machines. Attempting to adapt to the problem the spiders grew their legs outward to jump over the walls of spines erected in their path. As they hung in the air Type B pulled hundreds of small sharp stones from the rock around her and flung them into the air like a volley from a million archers, the spiders degenerated in the blur of passing missiles. So Terra and Type B fought on ripping at metal with stone as the ever advancing horde drew closer. It was not long until they where forced back to back still fighting the waves from the army of a thousand blades.

The exposed skin on Type B's back touched that of Terra's, when their flesh came in contact with one another a white light sparked between them and illuminated the battle field. Terra and Type B screamed as they felt their flesh being pulled into their sister's body. Then the orange disk on Type B's chest pulsed and the light died away. A mix of pain and distress pulled conciseness from the girls minds and they fell as the spiders closed in.

In this moment two things happened, Beast Boy opened his eyes and he saw his loves falling under the waves of Hunters spiders. Then that something that held back the animal with in him stepped aside to let the vengeful anger flow free.


	27. Treachery

Treachery

What is this world made of Ann?" the question caught Ann off guard, millions of vague references came to mind but the literal meaning nervier occurred to her, so Ann remained silent avoiding having to answer the trick question. Raven was not expecting one. "This world is made of dust and rock, down to it's very core. The creatures that live on its outermost rim are rudimentarily composed of the same material that makes up the ground they walk on.

"I know that the ability to control matter is a devastating skill but to have the entire world bend to you whim is a power that was never meant to be wielded. Terra is inevitably destined to achieve that power, this divine omnipotence. Her reaching her culmination, will spell the destruction of us all."

The malediction of Terra's fate surprised Ann even more then the odd question that had preceded it. "Wait, are you saying Terra is becoming a god?" Raven didn't even blink,

"Yes. The power equal to that of what you would call a god will be bestowed unwillingly upon her unless it is stopped. That seed of catastrophe sleeps within the two Terra's bodies and as long as they stay apart from one another it will be kept in check, but as long as she lives the threat of disaster of a world wide scale is still possible."

"Raven, a world wide disaster is currently taking place. Terra could help us. She could end this all by herself. Not even a thousand of Hunter's spider army's would dare fight a god." Raven slowly shook her head,

"You don't know Terra as I do young child, her hand is far too easily guided by that of evils. Even if her newly formed might is somehow used to bring an end to this crisis her very existence would leave us at the brink of an even greater cataclysm. All we can do is keep Hunter from binding the two halves of what was once Terra to make a whole once again, if he has that power to manipulate then there will be not place for us to hide."

There was a silence as the occupants of the cave contemplated what had just been said, the implications Raven had brought to light had truly changed the face of this confrontation. Though it was true they had eluded Hunters grasp, many more had been taken in by it, it would not have been the first time Terra had strayed from the righteous path and wandered into darker reigns of humanity. The soft hum of Cyborg's scanner echoed through the still air of the cave as he ran it slowly over Robin's body. No one spoke, consumed by thoughts of the events that may yet come. There was a click and the humming stopped.

"Cyborg says that Robin's fine… in fact he's not really sure why he's unconscious in the first place." Alice gave an inquisitive look at Robin over Starfire's shoulder as she spoke to her.

Once he was done examining the injured, Cyborg walked out to a small ledge exposed to the light and air in the corner of the cave. He stopped and sank slowly into a sitting position with his back to the door. The cylinders extruding from his upper torso, now exposed to the sun and wind began to slowly turn, gathering energy from the world around him. As Cyborg meditated he closed his human eye and the glow of his red lens slowly faded into blackness. Raven stood and began to walk down deeper into the cave,

"I think I'll do some meditating myself, I must think on these new occurrences, much has changed." She vanished into a shadow and was gone, Ann and Starfire where left sitting next to the cold stone slabs to watch the motionless boys in silence.

Hours passed and no one moved, Ann and Star watched and waited, but as time dragged on Starfire's eyes slowly drooped shut and she slept alongside her Robin. Ann was alone with Torrent. She placed her hand on his forehead and attempted to focus her powers to reach the dreams of her sleeping wild boy. Raven had said that her powers had not yet taken a form, and Ann wondered what form they would take, telepathy, telekinesis, pyrotechnics maybe. She could not reach Torrent not matter how hard she tried. Ann wished she could summon up what ever slept inside of her to help end the war, but the more she called out the quieter whatever it was within her became. Tears of helpless ness crept to the brims of her eyes, and she laid her head on Torrent's stomach and looked up at his face. With no one to hear and with her power renouncing her will she spoke aloud to him,

"Why does the world have to be like this Torrent? Why do people hate one another? Why is killing always the answer? You know don't you, you just keep in away from the rest of us in your silent smile. Torrent I just…" Ann felt a stinging in the back of her neck herd the hissing of gas as a liquid was injected into her veins.

When she stood the world around her spun and she fell back into the arms of Robin, who had been waiting silently as he lay upon the table behind her. He lifted her from the ground and turned for the door, Torrents eyes flickered open and he slowly sat up. Robin spun and stabbed him in the chest with another sedative dart. The liquid shot into Torrent veins and he roared in the sudden unexpected pain. He rose to a crouch and ripped the capsule from his flesh and shattered it against the stone wall next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Robin running for the door with Ann upon his back. Torrent stumbled off the table and staggered a few steps before passing out yet again on the cold wet cove bottom. Robin paused to turn and smirk and his incapacitated rival. When he turned back however the smile vanished, a floating redhead with her glowing fist raised barred his path.

"Put the girl down Robin, I do not wish to cause…" With out hesitation Robin spun and brought his heel against the side of the unsuspecting Starfire's head, she struck the wall next to her and fell motionless to the floor. Before any others could come Robin quickly slipped through the plants blocking the door and out into the wilderness. Silence hung in the dark of the cave once again, time passed and none could do anything. Both Star and torrent lay together on the cold wet stone of the floor their eyes closed and their minds blank. The closed eyes of Cyborg saw nothing, and the shadows where Raven meditated stayed silent. Robin drew farther and farther out of reach and nothing could be done. Then the picture of Ann suddenly flashed in Torrents head, he wasn't sure if it was her calling out to him or his own mind calling out to her, either way the sleep that had been forced upon him was cased aside. He shot awake, the room spun violently then quickly stabilized. After stumbling over the injured Starfire Torrent burst free of the cave into the harsh yellow light of the outer world.

Torrent sucked in a deep lung full of air filling his nose with its sent and the wind whispered it secrets into his keen ears as it flowed by. The effects of the drug that had been forcefully injected into his blood stream was lingering at the edge of his senses but he had more then enough wits left to track down the fleeing kidnaper. The world beyond the cold silence of the cave held the sounds and smells that Torrent had known all his life, now he had to pick out the ones that did not belong from the sea of life around him. Another deep breath confirmed his suspicions, Robin was moving downwind.

Branches on the ground and on the trees where torn apart as Torrent bounded swiftly through the dense undergrowth. Pieces of them lodged in his thick hair and clothing along with the others that had been residing there, to the eyes of an onlooker the running boy would have appeared as hysterical forest demon ragging through the trees. This time there was no smile touching the facial fetchers of this enraged fiend, this was no longer a game for Torrent to play. There are things at stake here that had never meant to be set on the table, and Torrent knew he was running out of time.

Suddenly the sent on the air changed, from the lingering odor of human sweat to the fumes of a gas motor. Robin must have mounted a car or motorcycle of some kind to aid in his flight. Realizing that what time he had to spare was just cut short Torrent tippled pace, counting on instinct alone to track the running thief. The wind was now screaming past his ears as he sprinted through the thick forest. A light appeared ahead, signaling an end of the trees. Past that was only a wall of blue light where the path ended. Quickly Torrent jammed his heel in to the ground, skidding to a stop at the brink of a cliff lying just past the tree line.

Torrent franticly glanced around him, not sure where he was. Had he gone the wrong way? Had his senses mislead him? No, the smell of Robin was stronger now then ever, he must be close. Then Torrent caught sight of what lay directly beneath him, inches away from the foot of the cliff side where he stood. Robin sat astride his red crotch rocket with Ann draped on its back and ahead of him was a large armored train grinding to a halt, steam bellowed into the air from its sides like the moist breath of a hundred exhaling giants. A beginnings of a growl ached in the base of Torrents throat, the thin line of reason that held him back from the brink of an insane frenzy snapped and Torrent leapt out from the cliff into mid air.


	28. Animals

Animals

The scream that ripped free from the throat of the young green boy rivaled that of any creature that called the mortal realm home. Blades hovered inches away from the twin helpless girls, the spiders had paused to find the origin of the horrific shriek. They however did not even have the chance to look up from their intended prey.

Two long sweeps from black blades sliced through the spiders immediately poised over the Terras, like that from the reaping of grain. The two halves from each machine fell to the ground like the clatter from a falling box of silverware down a rocky mountain side. In the center of the circle of devastated foes crouched Beast Boy, each arm an eight foot long razor edge. Again the spiders paused to asses the new threat, Beast Boy moved with out hesitation. There was a loud cracking sound as the bones in his arms broke in two then fused again to form another pair of bladed arms. A quick spin sliced through the surrounding enemies. The spiders instantly increased in armor thickness to stop the thin blades from piercing into there electronic organs. There was no pause in Beast Boys reaction, too many battles he had fought witch required quick thoughts for a transformation for him to faultier now.

Bringing all the blades together in front of him they melded together to make a single giant mallet like blades held alonft by all four limbs. His mussels grew and tightened to handle the great weight. A group of spiders dashed forward, Beast Boy pivoted his weapon around him and slammed the immense mass against theirs and sent their remains scattering into the air. Then the mallet came down atop another group flattening them against the earth. The spiders thinned their armor and increased their speed to dash in upon Beast Boy when his movement slowed. Another group of the distorted creatures rushed Beast Boy when his great blade hung momentarily motionless in the air.

The mallet instantly disappeared into the original twin arms and the green boy leapt high and out of reach. His weight was under the control of him whim, the density of his own body changing instantaneously. He darted into the air with the speed and precision of a small bird and hung in the air like a hovering feather. The spiders looked up at their escaped prey and changed again. Each emotionless monstrosity lifted their arms toward the boy handing in the air and launched them free of their sockets. The missiles hissed closer, each leaving a thin trail of smoke in their wake. Thousands of sharp needle like edges pointed toward the hovering boy and hissed closer. A fraction of a second passed where Beast boy simply hung in the air as the blades closed in, then he dropped. Every inch of his flesh instantly condensed and his speed drastically climaxed at terminal velocity in less then twenty feet of falling time. When the immense weight struck the ground the rock buckled and broke upward in a shockwave of dust and wind. Beast Boy was swallowed up in the mouth of earth he created. Temporarily stunned by the wave of shrapnel that exploded from the unexpected plummet of their intended target the spiders simply stared at the small hole where the boy was berried. Then a single metallic soldier happened to glance upward and saw the hail of their own missiles pivot midair and turn upon their owners. If he could have screamed in terror, he would have.

The air amidst the spiders was filled with a storm of shredding rain. Most of the machines where torn in half several times before their remains where permitted to touch the ground. What was left of the army died by their own hands, or what you might call hands of such beings? Then all that was left was a smoldering scrap graveyard and two twin girls lying ageist each other inhaling slowly. For nearly a minute their slow intake of breath was the only sound that traveled through the steam filled air of the desecrated battle ground. Hunter and the car where he had stood where gone, both fleeing the carnage back to the stronghold city. For a while there was just the girls, then a third player reentered the field, his pitch black eyes surveying what had once been his army. Then his eyes detected the sent of heat, and he saw the two girls amidst the destruction. John the assassin reached into his red vest with the large collar covering the bottom half of his face and pulled free a long jagged dagger. Charred metal cracked and bent under his heavy steps as he walked closer. He curled into a crouch then leapt forward with the dagger over his head, toward the sleeping Terra's.

A green hand erupted from the ground like a zombie rising from a wet grave and gripped John's leg, jerking him from the air and flinging him away from the girls. The assassin landed of his neck and rolled into a pile of sharp scraps left from his fallen warriors. The serrated edges scrapped harmlessly off his hard skin and John shook himself free of the metallic weight atop him as he regained his feet. Through his black eyes the assassin saw something he had thought only to be written into stories of horror and fantasy. A dark green figure haled himself upward from beneath the earth like some undead prince rising to reclaim his vengeance. Glowing white eyes glared up at his from under dirty black locks of noted hair. The Beast shook his body and large chunks of dark soil came free off his skin and into the air. Then the boy positioned himself between John and the helpless girls in a defensive stance. The control disk implanted in the assassins chest pulsed and John took his own fighting stance. His all seeing eyes watched in wonder as the green figure before him changed, the heat resonating from the boys skin burned with the heat of glowing coals then dropped as cold as the frost of a drifting ice burg. Each ragged breath that hissed through the beasts gagged teeth rose into the air like steam then blew forth like the wind from a cold rain. The chaotic temperatures seemed under the control of the creature they dwelt in. The orange disk pulsed and forced the moment of aw from John's mind and back to the challenge mounting before him. With the dagger still in hand he screamed and rushed the chaotic spirit that had manifested from the ground itself.

Beast Boy watched through narrow white eyes as the boy in the red vest charged at him, the ire he felt had not yet subsided and the primal animal was still in control. The scream that Beast Boy released in response to his attackers cry bellowed outward shaking the leaves in the trees and scarring the birds from their posts. The air from his lungs ripped through his mouth and all his rage and hatred for the evil of the world poured out along with it. The sound struck the charging assassins ears causing him to flinch.

As the sound still echoed through the halls of the mountains Beast Boy charged forward and met the assassin head on. Claws formed from what where once fingers raked across the side of John's chest, the fabric that made his clothes tore easily under the sharp claws but the indestructible hide beneath suffered not a single blemish. The solid impacts caused John to convulse after every strike but no blood leaked forth and no cries of pain filled the air, the maddening fury coursing through Beast Boy blinded him to the futility of his attacks so he persisted in the flurry of slashing assaults. A single final powerful blow across the face ripped free the large collar that hid Johns face from the outside word and caused the assassin to falter and fall to the ground. Beast Boy stood over the presumably defeated foe breathing hard, the long claws reseeding back into fingers once again. Enough time passed where John did nothing but lie upon the earth for the ragged breaths staggering from the young green boys lungs to ease slightly, and just when Beast Boy was about to turn to walk back to the fallen Terra's a small chuckle came from the deceptively conquered boy. The chuckle rose to laughter as the assassin rose to one knee, then climaxed at an inhuman bellow the echoed through the mountains just as Beast Boys roar had.

Beast Boy watched in astonishment as John casually stood without a single drop of blood staining the scrap covered ground beneath him. Even more shocking was what lay beneath the collar, the monstrous jawbone lined with irregular gagged teeth. The unearthly laughter died away and the two animals starred into the others eyes, ones eyes pure black the other glowing white. The scars of science inflicted each opponent, yet despite their common pains they regarded each other with cold unsympathetic eyes. John shook the dust from off his body and cracked his neck, but the treating action did not sway Beast Boy. With out any warning the assassin lunged forward to attempt at another rush, but with identical speed Beast Boy summoned up the great cleaver he had used against the spiders. Swinging it like a bat he swept it fast and in a long arch, the blade struck John in the neck and cast him into the air again. This time however Beast Boy did not let him land. The great blade dissipated and the green boy shot into the air after his prey, he moved with the speed and agility of a small humming bird despite his size. One arm grasped John by the ankle and flung him earthward. The sound of air hissing past the falling boy's body filled the assassin's ears but that was lost in the thunder when he struck and broke through a pile of the fallen androids. John rolled and regained his feet, the tread on the bottom of his shoes scrapping across the ground sending trails of dust upward as he slowed to a stop.

The assassin glanced up at the hovering green Beast with one eye brow raised. Wings wreathed in blades erupted from Beast Boys back, and his arm became a long lance thick with barbs. With one mighty sweep of the large bladed wings Beast Boy flung himself downward, plummeting toward John, who stood unmoving as this angle of retribution brought down its wrath. The air made a sharp screeching sound as it broke over the many sharp edges cutting through it. The lance was held forward aimed toward the monstrous assassin with the black eyes who awaited the coming of his judgment with calm unmoving confidence. The tip of the spear found its mark in Johns gut, but when it struck his skin the tip punctured nothing. John had been waiting for this.

With one hand he grasped the blade that was Beast Boys hand and used its momentum against its owner it into the ground. Beast Boy was slammed hard into the unforgiving and ridged rock. The lance and wings disappeared and Beast Boy struggled to rise. A foot with a steel tip struck the side of his face, pain shot out like a firecracker in his left ear and he fell to his back. Another kick into his kidney struck his side followed by another to the face flipping his over to his stomach. Beast Boy screamed and blades shot out of his back in every direction. John raising his heads and was force backward by the force of the expanding treat. The thick blades bent and pushed against the ground lifting Beast Boys body from the ground like long black spider legs. John watched with calm black eyes as his foe rose above him like a rising martyr, his legs limp and his head hung low. Beast Boy spat and blood struck the earth, one hand wiped blood and spittle from the side of his mouth as white eyes glared at the assassin beneath him.

"You know this can only end one way Beast of a thousand blades." When John spoke his gruesome jaw bone barely twitched, it was as if the words where willed forth. "You can not harm me, it will only take time for you to tire and falter. Your girls will die not long after you fall and my mission will be complete." Beast Boy growled and flung him self down toward the talking monster.

John moved to quick and Beast Boys anger had made his reckless, he grabbed the snarling Beast by the neck and slammed him once again to the ground. As the fallen boy rolled through the shrapnel strewn across the ground the blades coming from his back clanked against the metal on the ground and hundreds of small cut where torn in his flesh. John offhandedly walked after his tumbling foe. Beast Boy fell to a crouch and hunched like an angry dog as he gritted his teeth with hatred toward the approaching assassin. Fur grew on his back between the spider leg like blades and bristled upward in defiant rage.

"Your resistance is admirable but it is pointless, my skin is stronger then any metal found on his planet. Nothing can puncture its surface." Beast Boy looked upward at the invincible boy and smiled.

"Can you think of the one word in that sentence that you should've left out?" What was once a hand became a sharp black dagger and shot forward plunging deep into the orange disk implanted into Johns chest. The blade cut through the thin metal plate, past the bone and into the red meat of the heart. The black eyes of the assassin grew wide with shock as the first and last pain of his short life shot through his body. Beast Boy held the blade for a moment then ripped it free, shards of metal within a spray of crimson hung in the air. The shards of glass flickered with the orange glare several more times before the evil light fell away forever.

John's eyes went from a glare of painful rage to a look of sorrowful lament as he teetered forward and caught himself with one hand of Beast Boys shoulder. The Beast that held the will of the green boy saw the human that had been berried deep within the relentless heart of the dieing assassin. Once again the powerful rage fell back into the dark side of Beast Boys mind and regret surfaced. As John lost control of his legs and began to pullet down BB reached out and caught him, cradling his head in the palm of his hand and he felt the pure irony of what he had just done wash over him. To kill the assassin Beast Boy was forced to destroy the one thing that made him a monster. Tears brimmed at the edge of the black eyes of the unwilling tool of malevolence. The inhuman jaw opened ever so slightly and a single diction expressed the pain of woe that had been hidden past the cage of orange glass.

"I am sorry… forgive my weakness, oh boy of beasts… I knew not what I did." The spider like blades hovered for a moment in the air above them like a shroud of sorrow then slowly slipped back into their birth place as the life from the assassin slipped into vertigo.

Then it was only Beast Boy holding the shell of another monster in a silent battle field with his twos loves who where slowly rising from their unnatural hibernation that was forced upon them by one of the three orange disks that where left in the word. One still in Robin, one still in Type B and another for the one meant to bring them all under the will of darkness.


	29. Fallen

Fallen

The wall of mist struck Robin causing his black cape to billow outward and cover the girl behind him from view. The moisture gathered in small droplets on the tips of his hair and on the ends of his eyelashes. The scream of the armored trains wheels as they scratched at the surface of the tracks burned his ears, but no indication of this was seen of his emotionless face. The disk within his chest held prisoner all the pains and joys behind its barricade of orange light. Slowly and almost painfully the large locomotive ground to a halt and the noise of the squealing tracks faded into nothing. Robin twisted behind him and was about to untie the girl from his back seat when another scream began to fade back in to Robins ears. It held all the anguish and rage that the screeching wheels had but this cry was growing louder. Robin looked skyward just in time to see a raging Torrent explode downward through the mist coming for him. Caught by surprise and unable to move quickly enough Robin was struck immediately. Torrent drove his heel into Robins face knocking him from the bike. Robin was flung from his mount as Torrent pushed off into the air and performed an aerial back flip. Torrent flew through the mist filled air, his knotted hair and torn clothes flapping in the wind. Then twisting his body like a falling cat he snapped himself around and landed nimbly upon all fours. Robin rose to both feet brushing dust from his black shirt, his left eye was bruised and blood was leaking from several small cuts on his left cheek. Torrent snarled unsmiling at the enemy that had stolen his Ann away from him. As metal scrapped across metal the large hulk of a train finally ground to a complete halt. An electronic door snapped open and three men wearing what looked like futuristic lab coats staggered hurriedly outward. Robin quickly glanced viciously toward them,

"Don't just stand there you fools grab the girl, I'll deal with the whelp." Torrent took full advantage of the lack of concentration Robin had displayed, and when the spiky haired boy turned back a blow from Torrents undamaged left arm sunk deep into his gut.

The air was squeezed violently from Robin's lungs and darkness creped in from the edges of his plain of vision. Torrent left him clutching his bruised ribcage and dashed toward the men attempting to untie Ann from the motorized bike. The first man let out a yelp of surprise as he was cast into the air by a charging Torrent. Another found his front teeth knocked in by a well paced left hook, the remaining scientist simply cowered backward away from the deranged animal that stood over him.

Torrent ripped free the final remains of the bonds restraining Ann; the effects of the drug still seemed to dominate her perception, for her eyes made no sign of opening as Torrent lifted her into his arms. He paused looking at her sleeping eyes, hoping for a glimmer of recognition. The lack of concentration cost Torrent, a flying kick into his lower spine caught him by surprise. He fell to the ground still clutching Ann tightly, cradling her from any harm. Torrent skidded across the rocky ground on his injured arm, gritting his teeth against the sharp pricks of agony. After the friction of his body against the earth had stopped him Torrent attempted to rise, Ann still in his arms. Another foot fell across his face knocking him once again to the ground. A hand reached down and attempted to wrench the girl in his arms away, the pain faded away in wake of Torrents protective instincts and he only tightened his grip. Robin placed his metal cased foot across Torrents face and heaved Ann out of his arms. Robin turned and tossed the young physic to the man still covering his face in fear next to his motorcycle.

"Take her I'm staying to have a chat with our socially challenged friend here." He gestured downward to Torrent, on whose face his foot was still planted. The man staggered to his feet and lifted the girl over one shoulder. Robin watched him go then returned his eyes to Torrent, who struggled to rise from under the metallic boot pressing on his neck. Robin smiled, "Now it's just you and me, and once the train is on its way I will show you the meaning of pain… of course its noting close to what they have in store for your little girlfriend."

Spit sprayed from Torrents mouth as he snarled upward at the fallen hero, his claws raked across the armored leg that held him down, and his legs pushed hard ageist the earth. Robin reached into his belt and withdrew a single bladed bird shaped dart; the sunlight glinted across its sharpened edge. Robin raised it to the sky preparing to plunge it into the heart of the suffocating boy under his heel. Torrents drove his foot into the soft back of Robin's knee joint, causing the boy to crumple to the ground under his own weight. Robin's cry of pain caused the man caring Ann glanced over his shoulder. Torrent rose to his feet, glaring with his glowing amber wolf's eyes at the last obstacle standing between him and Ann. The scientist made what could have been a whimper and dashed through the door of the train witch snapped shut after him. Torrent roared with irritation and anger toward the great metal beast that crawled along the metal tracks. As if in response steam screamed out from the sides of the train and the wheels slowly began to turn and draw the colossal mass down the steel path in the dirt. Torrent sprinted forward and leapt to snatch a bar placed on the side of one of the cars.

Some thing grabbed his feet and held them together and jerked him from the air. Torrent struck the ground, then rolled the best he could to avoid injury. After ripping the black rope tipped with small black weights from his ankles Torrent looked up to see a slightly limping Robin stepping toward him, holding his dark like a small dagger.

"Have you no honor dog? You run from your opponent like a cowardly worm!" Robin spoke the last word through clinched teeth.

"Keep your honor." Torrent struck Robin with a startlingly quick strike directly in the mouth. Robin's hand flew up to late to deflect the blow and he staggered backward.

Without so much as a second glance Torrent turned and began to run as fast as his legs could push him after the train, witch was now gaining speed at an alarming rate. Torrent could make out the tail end of the back cart through the smog trail that fell in the wake of the rumbling automation. Torrent ducked his head down and pushed his legs to push harder, the mussels screamed, his vision darkened, his ears buzzed, his lungs burned, and his heart thundered. The sweat coated his body like a second thin layer of skin over his own. Through the mist formed the guard rail that surrounded the door leading into the caboose. The speed of the train matched and past Torrent's and the train began to draw ahead. Torrent leapt forward in one final burst of speed with his hand outstretched, grasping blindly through the steam for a grip upon the guard rail.

His fingers found their mark and locked about the damp cold metal with all the might at their disposal. The sudden jerk of speed pulled at his shoulder violently, Torrent let loose a half snarl half scream of pain as his shoulder teetered on the brink of dislocation before sliding back into place. The pain in his shoulder intensified as he pulled himself upward and on the back of the now speeding train. Torrent took three seconds to let his heart slow and his lungs calm. The scenery became a blur as the bullet like train gathered its speed in the slight passage of time. He stared at the blank metal door imprinted on the wall in front of him, no handle, and no window; just blank and without clues to give passage under its archway. Then Torrent saw a small pain of glass set in the wall directly to the left of the plain door. He had seen anything like this before, a single questioning word was spelled out above a collection of numbers.

"Password?" Torrent knew nothing of access panels, he'd never seen any James Bond flick or any other spy male wet dream movie where the hero expertly hacks into the small hole in the wall to deactivate a turret or cause a large evil fortress to self destruct after a climactic count down. So he simply stared at the small flashing screen frustrated to be stopped here, so close to saving Ann.

His puzzlement did not last long however, after contemplating the panel for several moments it suddenly and unceremoniously exploded. Torrent's hands and upper arms where charred black and he was flung to his back. Glancing up at the smoldering hole in the wall Torrent saw the culprit that caused the sudden combustion. A red bladed dart imbedded in the cracked and blackened glass. The whine of a small motorized bike suddenly rose above the hammering of the trains engine and Torrent turn in time to see a black figure atop a red cycle fly toward him through the mist. With a flick of the riders hand three more glints of metal came slicing through the wind at Torrent. He sunk to a crouch to duck the oncoming projectiles, and all three missed their target, clanking harmlessly off the metallic door. One came close enough to remove several strands from Torrents mass of knotted hair but no flesh was torn. The bike's engine revved and Robin rocketed closer to the platform where Torrent crouched. Before he could raise to his feet Robin place a foot upon the seat of his bike and hurtled himself forward. The bike turned sharply and crashed into the tracks, causing a bright explosion backlighting Robin as he descended.

Torrent looked up only to be struck down again by the heel of a flying foot. The foot kicked off of his face and sent its owner over the lip of the wall and on to the roof of the speeding train. Sudden and undeniable anger filled Torrent as he wiped the blood that was no streaming from his nose. Snarling he leapt after the boy in the black and yellow cape. Robin stood waiting for him several feet away, his staff already drawn in an aggressive stance. Torrent paused for only a second, scanning the position of his foe. The wind whipped past the two enemies like a rush of water from a fall, the clothes on each boy was flattened against there bodies and flapped in the wind. Then his mind found the vendible point on witch to strike. He ran hell-bent forward toward Robin as if to charge carelessly forward with no regard toward his own injuries; Robin fell for the illusion of recklessness and swung his staff high as to strike at Torrents unguarded temple. Torrent took his chance that his gamble had given him, dropping to a crouch so that the staff would swing harmlessly above him then spinning his leg beneath Robins foreleg. The staff fell from his hands and clanked against the Trains armor once before bounding off into the winds beyond. Robin's right leg was swept out from under him, his stance had placed the majority of his weight on the single limb and with it gone he toppled helplessly downward.

The slick surface of the trains roofing provided no friction for Robin to grasp and he slid across its slick metallic exterior without any hope of slowing his progression. Just before his fragile body was cast out into the empty air beyond a strong hand gripped him by the collar and held him at the brink of oblivion. Robin opened his clinched eyes after realizing that the horrific death that awaited him had not come as timely as he would have predicted. He saw a snarling vicious animal of a boy glaring back into the eyes of the boy he had just saved from death.

"Why did you…" The question was asked not in wonder but surprise at the obviously miscalculated maneuver.

"Quite! I did not save you to answer your pointless questions! Tell me how I save my Ann from the belly of this metallic contraption!" Robin only smiled back into the amber eyes burning down at him.

"Stupid animal, you can not enter an armored train of Hunters design unless he allows you to enter. Your Ann is our now, submit and we might let you have her back when we're finished." Torrent screamed and slapped Robin hard across the face, then gripped him about the throat and squeezed hard.

"You underestimate my rage child of evil! I will use your bones to pry that door open and your blood to grease its hinges." All that came as a response was a small gurgle from Robins open mouth. Torrent held the boy farther out from the edge and restated his question, "Tell me or your body is torn to shreds by the speeding earth below us." His hands loosened just enough to allow words to pass through.

"Kill me or let me die, I serve Hunter in life and death. Your Ann is _ours_!" In a sudden burst of aggregation Robin loosed an arm and struck down on Torrents now unarmored right arm and into the open wound.

Torrent screamed and toppled backward with Robin now atop him. With the speed and expertise gained through time Robin drew a pair of cuffs from his belt and strapped them over Torrent's wrists. Roaring with renewed rage Torrent struck upward with his knee into Robins chin, he flew off of Torrent; blood from a torn lip flying up into the air. Robin fell again to the trains roofing, but this time he rolled and gained his footing again before he reached the edge. Torrent snarled and strained against the thick cuffs gripping his hands together behind his back in vain. Robin laughed maliciously as his foe struggled, then in with a flick of his wrist sent a dart flying toward Torrent. Torrent expertly dodged the missile by falling to one knee. Watching it go past Torrent looked back to Robin, and was struck in the center of the chest with the metallic end of a steel tipped boot. Torrent fell to his back again and found the same shoe pressing hard down on the center of his ribcage.

"Your love for the key to our plans is most annoying, but it is your weakness none the less. You should have let me die Dog, for I will not hesitate to kill you." Robin struck down with his knee and pushed the breath from Torrents lungs. The lack of air dulled his senses but he held tightly to consciousness, nothing this demon could do to him would stay his vengeance. "But before you die, let me give you a taste the true suffering that awaits pagan devils like you." Robin spoke his malediction and struck downward with his bladed dart.

Torrents scream muffled out the roar of the wind past Robins ears, and he savored the sound. A single blade sunk into Torrents wound deep in his right arm. The sharp edge twisted and dug deeper, and Robin grinned into the snarling and screaming face under him. This torture would have gone on, gone until all the blood in Torrents body had leaked out onto the silver platting of the trains armor, but it ended then.

An iridescent green glow illuminated Robin giving his the look of a risen pit beast, his evil smile and glaring white eyes only accenting the image. Then the glow suddenly intensified and Robin was flung from the train, still clutching Torrent who was weakened from the pain. The two boys struck the rocky earth and tumbled painfully across its surface. Torrent slowed to a stop and remanded motionless for what could have been minutes, then he slowly pushed against the earth to stagger to his feet. A strange sight awaited his eyes when he stood. A red haired, green eyed young woman floated several inches above the defeated Robin who lie bleeding into the sand beneath her. On the aliens face was not a look of triumph or absolution but of lament. Before Torrent passed out from blood loss he heard her speak a single statement think with a mixture of regret and valor.

"You gave me no choice Robin… you had to be stopped." Her tear covered face was the last thing Torrent saw before the darkness took him and his body gave way to the embrace of sleep.


	30. Transcend

Transcend

Three dark figures proceeded downward through the deeply shadowed and rocky path, silence incasing the trio like a cage. The air they breathed was stagnating and bitter, it had been trapped beneath the wet grey stones for longer then man had walked the earth. Type B took the lead with her head held high defiantly looking into the darkness ahead of her. Beast Boy followed his head down, heavy with thoughts of self loathing and regret, the new form that had been forced upon him seemed to have brought forth the beast that slumbered within his chest. The collar had amplified its control over him, but the beast had always been there, apart of him. Last of all watched Terra, her blue deep eyes scanning the back of Beast Boys black hair in search of any sign to give her passage into his thoughts, she could feel his pain and could not help but see her part in creating it. Type B knew what lay at the end of this path, and Terra had a good idea about what lay ahead of them, but Beast Boy simply followed compliantly. He was still far too desolated from what had happened at the end of his confrontation with John to recognize where they where leading him. The walls still resonated with the heat of the burning earth, like a constant reminder of the evil that smoldered within the walls of Terra's heart. Type B walked silently and stubbornly onward without a glance backward, Terra knew why, she felt the same sense of lament burning through her as she did. This place did nothing but amplify the remorse of that day so long ago.

They passed the wreckage of the metallic door that had been torn to shreds by Beast Boy in order to save Terra from a fate she had bestowed upon herself. The windows of stained glass where broken inward and the colorful shards littered the ground like sharp teeth growing from earth. The glass crunched and cracked under Type B's shoes as she pushed past another of her painful memories. Beast Boy began to look around as his mind slowly wrapped around where he was and the place witch had haunted his nightmares each night sense Terra had gone from his side. Finally the narrow tunnel expanded outward into a great cavern, within its walls many sharp and tower like pillars of rock stretched upward to the black ceiling and a single narrow bridge leading from the entrance to the center of the expanse. The walls of the cavern where charred black and the smell of brimstone hung thick in the air, Type B stopped and starred at her feet, unable to bring her eyes upward. Beast Boy took a slow step past her and Type B glanced up at him, but his eyes where locked strait forward. At the heart of the room stood a single figure, an eternal monument to the pain and hatred that festers in the hearts of every human that calls earth home. The statue of the true Terra with her eyes still wide and staring stood unmoving and unchanged against the prolonged darkness.

Beast Boy blinked hard as the shock of what he saw overtook him, shaking his head slightly to clear it of what must have been an illusion he staggered slightly. Type B looked away from the sculpture that was the origin of her shame, she had know of its existence all her life and knew that she was not the true Terra, unlike her sister who had fallen to her knees next to her. Tears flowed from the eyes of girl on the floor to Type B's left and her grief stricken mouth was covered by both hands to mask her sorrow. All she had ever known or thought to have known was slipping through her fingers like so many grains of sand.

"She has always been here, I know not how Hunter found a trace of our genetic code but the true Terra remains untouched." Type B spoke to the wall next to her, she could not gather the will to meet Beast Boys eyes or look into the tear filled eyes of the girl kneeling on the ground next to her.

As if under a trance Beast Boy stepped forward, the girl crying upon the stone looked up at him but he seemed to not see her at his feet. Step after slow step he approached the center of the room. Type B forced her self to watch him go, and tears gathered in her eyes like that of her clone. Step after slow step Beast Bow drew himself across the slender bridge that spaced the darkness of the cavern, the eyes of the girls watching his back as he went. Beast Boy fell to his knees at the foot of the stone depiction of the girl he loves. He placed a single hand on the side of her leg as he looked up into the eyes of the child of stone. Both clones gasped as they felt his warm touch on their own legs, they glanced at one another then locked their eyes back to the tragedy unfolding before them. Beast Boy was silently starring upward into the blank eyes that he had spent days lost in the depths of. His hand lay on the cold stone that had once been beautiful warm flesh. The memories of the only girl who had ever truly loved him burned like embers in the back of his throat. Had it all been a dream? The last few days, the transformation he had gone through, and Terra returning to him… twice… all a dream? If so, then why was he here kneeling under the marble tomb of Terra, why was his body so vividly scarred, and why was he on the verge of tears? Reality seemed to be collapsing around him, his head spun and sanity came and went. He slumped against the side of the statue, and wrapped his arms about one of its legs and burying his face in to his shoulder.

Type B turned to leave but her sister grasped her hand, Type B turned back to look down into the tear covered face that looked so much like her own. They held each others gloved hands for a few seconds until the girl on the ground spoke,

"Where would we go, sister?" Type B didn't know so she only starred into the blue eyes looking back into hers in silence, then her clone looked away. "I tried to stay away from him, I knew I could only cause more pain… now the damage is done and all I can think to do is to run again. His body has been ravaged by our creator and he was deceived by artificial recreations of the woman he treasured yet he still has enough love left for Terra to he weep at the foot of our grave. Do we leave his side now that the scars have been inflicted? I don't think I could live with the self-loathing that would follow."

Type B stood unmoving as her sister spoke. The words rang more true than any other words she had ever heard and in that moment Type B realized that she and her sister where one and the same… no difference of good or evil, only separated into different bodies. Type B felt the same as the girl looking up into her eyes and she felt the same as her. The thought brought a moment of happiness into Type B's face, and she didn't feel quite as alone in her sorrow. Pulling on the hand that still grasped on to her own, Type B helped her sister to her feet, and together they timidly approached the green boy wrapping his arms about the figure that reflected their fetchers in perfect symmetry. Beast Boy did not move as they approached, not even as they drew within inches of his bare feet pressed against the cold stone. It was the girl who thought she had been Terra who spoke in a timid voice toward the green boy she loved,

"Beast Boy? I… we… there is nothing I can say that could…" As she spoke Beast Boy slowly dragged his body from the wet rock and stood. Terra stopped as he reached his full height in front of her, she knew he must be angered, his life had been torn to shreds then chaotically stitched together by the hand of genetics in order to save a girl who turned out not to be who he had hopped she would. But when he turned and looked at the twins standing side by side before the statue, she could only sorrow in his tear filled eyes.

"Terra… I don't know what to think any more." He fell forward, the clones reached out and let him fall into their arms and they held him together. Type B and her sister wrapped their arms about Beast Boy and squeezed him tight, tears of their own flickering at the tips of their eyelashes. The three grasped on to one another, sheltering themselves from the cold of the cave and of the world beyond it. The green and golden spec held out against the back of the shadows coating the great walls of the cavern, and they felt comfort together in their small world.

The cheek of Type B stoked ageist that of her sisters, and at first nothing happened, the trio held each other for several more treasured moments and then the golden light shone like a beacon in the black expanse. The disk placed within Type B's chest flickered once then died. Beast Boy was flung back away from the girls and to the foot of the statue by an unseen detonation. The girl's eyes gleamed a burning yellow as their hair flowed in some invisible force and their feet slowly levitated from the ground from which they had stood. The walls reflected the bright glow now issuing out from the connected link, and the black void erupted with glimmering sparkles of light like stars spacing the black of the night sky. Beast Boy felt the wind rush past him as the force gathering into the girls increased, then he recognized the feeling that reflected that which he had felt when Terra's power was unleashed so many years ago, and all he could do was watch in astonishment and the energy before him grew and grew. The girls raised higher in the air, their gloden locks intertwining and their now gloveless hands grasping together in a tight lock. Their faces blank with shock and their mouths slightly open, they where slaves to the power that slept within themselves. The ground in every direction was now crying out as if alive, responding to its old master's call. Chunks of the ceiling fell away and the great pillars of stone ripped themselves to pieces. Rock and stone began to slowly rotate through the giant circular room, and all that Beast Boy could do was watch as the walls of rock around him shattered as if made from glass. Light bursting from the double goddesses of stone now filled the once dark cave, and the only moving shadows where cast by great pillars of rotating granite twirling around the focal point of the power witch commanded them. Then in unison the girls looked down toward the boy they loved and reached out with their free hand toward him as if calling out to him for the last time, then a final explosion of golden light erupted and the room went a glaring white and Beast Boy was blinded. The final image of the two identical twins burned into his eyes for a moment then faded away, revealing another image floating where they had once been.

The pillars of rock where gone, and a single figure floated within a sea of glimmering crystals. It's long perfectly blond hair rippling from its own power, the metal that had once clung to its skin orbited its body like glimmering satellites, its eyes glowed in a solid wash of the purest gold, and each of its hands still held outstretched, reaching toward Beast Boy.


	31. Malediction

Malediction

Torrent looked down in to the deep cut in to the earth, its abyss reaching forever into the depths of his earth. The side on witch he stood rose hundreds of feet into the air above the opposing surface. Between the two shards of the earth's shell sunk a seemingly endless chasm stretching from horizon to horizon, like a black line drawn upon the face of the planet. Beneath his feet lay the remains of what was once a great highway split in two by the powerful and rapid upheaval. The crag had broken the road directly down its center, dividing its twin yellow lines perfectly. A blinking yellow light reflected off of Torrents face from a mangled traffic light precariously hanging over the separated concrete path. To his back smoldered the wreckage of a destroyed city, the other half of which burned upon the other side of the dividing darkness. From his perch Torrent could see the once majestic skyscrapers impaled by great spires of sharpened stone. Chunks of diamond the size of air craft carriers erupted from the earth, giving the carnage an eerie look of beauty.

Turning from the edge Torrent began to walk down the half of the road that still remained on his side of what was once a metropolis, but the divided city was silent now, vacant of all life. As he walked he saw more visions of the earth taking its vengeance upon the humans that dwelt upon its surface. Busses skewered by hundreds of thin metallic shards of rebar that had been torn free from the building beside it, the wreckage of a hospital that had been crushed into a single column of condensed stone, buildings that looked as if they had simply torn them selves apart from the inside. As Torrent neared the edge of the city he found the remains of what had attempted to stand against the destructive force, tanks and jeeps impaled by great spines of metal that formed from the ore beneath the surface, helicopters crushed beneath titanic masses of rock that seemed to have been flung into the air like sand to the wind, even what remained of the warriors still lay on the ground. A blind eye fell upon the destruction around him, Torrent was searching for one and only one person and this display of obliteration meant nothing to him in contrast to his goal. Ann was here somewhere in this massacre he knew it.

Deeper into the city's core the chaos intensified, more of the slaughter and pain that had made up the last moments of man kind beneath the thumb of their mother earth. Torrent staggered past the images left in his path with a solitary goal overshadowing all else in his mind. He had traveled mile after burning mile to answer the cerebral call she had sent to him, and no matter how hopeless it seemed he would travel a million more miles for the slightest chance of finding her again. Suddenly he felt a pull toward the direct center of the section of what had once been a conurbation. He broke into a run, dashing past the dead littering the streets.

Then he saw it, a huge and narrowly pointed pyramid of earth with black spines of granite shooting out from its sides like the great spine of an immense creature. At its apex was formed a throne of red stone, and upon it lie a black figure. Torrent reached the beginning of the spire and began to climb heatedly upward, hand over hand. The rough rock scrapped his hands and the sharp edges ripped at his loose clothing. The sweat from his forehead stung his eyes as he climbed upward, but still he climbed. Torrent reached the foot of the chair that sat atop the pinnacle of the satanic tower and looked up at what sat upon the throne of devastation.

The silent and unmoving face of the girl he loved awaited his tear filled eyes. She leaned against the side of the chair, as dead as the city that surrounded the two lovers. Torrent slowly crawled closer to Ann, weak with grief and unable to speak through his tears, no matter how he tried. Once he reached her, he pulled her into his arms and embraced the physical remains that had caged to soul of an angle. He slowly rocked her in his arms his cries of anguish echoing through the hallways of the silent city. Then looking down into her face fell silent, letting the horrifying truth set in. The cold wind chilled his skin as it slid past the panicle of stone. Then a voice called out to Torrent, a voice that echoed down the silent valleys of destroyed skyscrapers, a voice that came from everywhere and only within his mind, a voice of beauty and bliss. Ann's voice,

"Stop him Torrent. Stop him before he makes me do this… before I make her do this."

Torrent shot awake, his body covered in a cold sweat. The world around him was lightless and damp, the image of the city gone as the dream ended. The thin white blanket that had been placed over him falling away from the platform on witch he lay. He grasped one hand to the bandaged wound in his right arm, the pain helped to remind him that he was back in reality and away from the nightmare which had haunted him. Only hours had passed sense he had last laid eyes on Ann's face but it already seemed like decades. The vision he had received in his sleep had shown him what Ann feared would happen if Hunter succeeded in his plans, though Torrent still knew not what the evil within the general planned. He was unsure if it had been Ann her self calling out to him or simply a horrific vision of an apocalyptic future created by his own fear of loosing that that was closest to him. As he shook the cobwebs of sleep from his mind Torrent vision cleared and he saw a figure dressed in black standing to one side of the rock slab on witch he laid.

"You shouldn't be awake yet." The voice was soft but low and raspy. Torrent turned to see a clocked figure with pail skin. Two amethyst eyes starred at him from under the cloth hood, they reached into his mind the way Ann's did but in a determined rather than affectionate way. "The amount of blood lost from your system should have kept you decommissioned from at least another few days, even my healing skills can't regenerate a person to health that quickly." Torrent swung his legs to one side of the table and stood. The girl spoke more rapidly as he began to strap his metallic arm brace over his wounded right arm.

"Wait, you shouldn't move. The girl who was with you is gone. She has been missing for almost two days now. I know you have never met me or know my name but I tell you that she is being searched for as we speak. My friend searches for her in the wild beyond the cave. Her you have met, the red haired girl named Starfire." Torrent politely waited for Raven to finish speaking then began to walk from the room. Shocked by the boy's seemingly inability to understand her Raven stood and staggered after him.

The Torrent entered the main chamber of the cave and saw the mechanical titan who had saved Ann and himself from the marauding spider army hunched over a figure chained to another rock platform. Cyborg looked up as Torrent passed and the body of Robin could be seen, the disk in the center of his chest being slowly chopped away from the flesh on which it clung. There was a pause as both Cyborg and Raven watched Torrent as he starred at the barely conscious Robin, the boy who had taken Ann from him. For a long second Torrent only looked at him. Then he simply turned and walked out the cave entrance. Still confused Raven followed joined by an equally surprised Cyborg. Torrent stood in the sun with his nose lifted to the sky. Raven and Cyborg gave each other a glace then continued to watch as the wild boy slowly turned and began to step closer to a pile of brush several dozen yards from the mouth of the cavern, still sniffing at the air. Then with one hand he violently swept aside the foliage revealing a metallic surface beneath.

Raven gasped, he had found Robins original bike, they had placed it under the plants in hope that Robin would one day return to them and ride it once again. Torrent had smelt the gasoline within its tank. He mounted the motorcycle and glance the various gauges and switched on its exterior, then looked on the machines side at the engine and ignition. He had never actually driven any kind of mechanical transportation before but he had seen how the boy in the yellow cape had accomplished mounting the steel beast and Torrent was a very quick learner. After several scans of the vehicles exterior Torrent pulled a hidden key from under the bike seat and turned the motorcycle on. Revving the engine three times before giving one last glance at the shattered remains of the teen titans Torrent simply nodded then rocketed forward down the rough path through the trees. Raven and Cyborg watched until the thundering echoes from the engine faded into the sounds of the forest. They could have stopped him, but they each knew he was the only one who had any chance of finding Ann and stopping Hunter.


	32. Wind

Wind

(part 1)

The green and brown of the vegetation blurred together as the hum of the motor rose steadily to its climax. Imperfections in the dirt path caused the wheels to jump sporadically, but in the past three minutes Torrent had been able to gain ample skill to be able to maneuver the bike at top speed on the complex terrain. The black tread of the tires ripped apart the young ground cover and tossed small rocks up in a cloud of other dislodged objects in his wake. Then Torrent saw what he had been driving for, the white wall of sunlight at the edge of the trees, and he pressed the turbines of the bike to detonate even more rapidly. The rasp of the motorbike echoed like a thunderstorm through the tightly packed trees, blaring out any other sound from Torrents ears. He squinted his eyes tight just as the bike entered the sun's glare and its wheels left the earth.

There was no noise. The rumbling of the engine faded away and the swish of passing trees instantly dissipated, not even the sound of his own heart pumping through his ears remained, only the slight hiss of wind as it passed his ears could be heard as Torrent flew out from the cliffs edge into the open nothing. The knotted hair atop Torrents head waved like felids of grain caught in an autumn storm. His bright amber eyes narrowed into slits of glowing color as he squeezed them tighter against the wind, small tears formed at the brims of his lids and the surface of his clinched teeth where blown salt dry. Several leaves followed in the wake of the motorcycle out into the blue void, and they hung with the boy and the bike as long as they could, until gravity overcame the motor bikes velocity and both the boy mounted atop and the green leaves surrounding the bike began to arch downward.

When the tires struck the hard ground the shocks buckled as much as they could but the majority of the recoil back lashed upward. Torrent clinched every muscle in his taut legs and pushed back against the power of the fall. The bike swerved out of control for several seconds until Torrent regained command and steadied it. Grasping the brakes with both hands Torrent locked the disks tight and stopped the spinning tires, the bike slid to a stop kicking large amounts of dust into the air in front of Torrent. He waited, for the dust to fall and for his legs to stop burning. When they did he saw what he had come here to see, two slivers of shiny metal placed parallel to one another pointing away from the cliff side and toward whatever lay beyond. Reaching into a side compartment hidden beneath the thin platting armor coating the bike, Torrent withdrew a long belt. The belt was large and bulky, used for an emergency replacement for the former boy wonder who bike this was. It wasn't as streamline or light as the original but it held all of the standard forms of equipment. The tools within where not stylized like those which Robin carried, the darts did not resemble birds and it was a shade of gray instead of the neon yellow which was its owners preference, the tools where made for functionality not ego stimulating purposes. As he strapped the belt around his waist Torrent glared down at the railroad tracks beneath him, and he thought of the man that waited for him at their end. As he thought Torrent realized that it had been a long time sense he had last smiled, not sense Ann was at his side. Then he wondered if he would ever smile again.

Pawn

(part 2)

A single pane of darkly tinted glass placed in the side of the cliff marked the only window looking into the outside world from within the restrictions of the combine, and behind the clear barrier of translucent glass glowered a single angry old man glaring out at the setting sun. The only light in the room hovered several inches before of his face, the glowing ember at the tip of a dry cigar. He sat in a wheel chair the flickering luminescence given off from the burning spark gave just enough light to barely light his scarred face. His broken rib was another failure induced injury witch he was forced to endure. First he failed with Torrent who caused him to loose Ann, then he had failed with John, and then with Beast Boy who had cost him Terra. The frustration that came from the recollection of his past failures boiled up to the surface. Hunter's hand clinched and the cigar crumpled apart, spilling its hot cherry into the air like hundreds of diminutive burning pixies dancing through the twilight. He ground his teeth against the anger welling up inside as he looked out of his black window. Breathing heavily in the now complete darkness Hunter waited for the rage to subside.

The door behind him slowly opened spilling a white light out from behind a faceless silhouette standing in the center of the door. Hunter continued glaring out the window refusing to acknowledge the presence of the messenger. A long moment passed while the man simply stared at the back of his leaders head, then he spoke his message.

"We're ready to begin sir, the equipment is in place. Are you…" Hunter silenced him with a wave; Hunter knew they had been ready. His time of contemplation had come to an end and he was prepared. This time he was determined not to let another slip through his fingers, and he called to his escort. "Take me to her."

The hall was metal, the ceiling, the floor, even the walls. Hunter's wheels rolled silently like a specter gliding across the hard surface only the ushers shoe steps echoed in the empty space filling the corners of the vacant hall. The electronic door at the end of the hall snapped open as Hunter approached. Waiting for him was an empty room with only one other exit, an elevator door set on the opposite wall. As the two entered to room a motion activated camera snapped to life and followed them as they approached the double doors. Hunter pulled up next to a small lens exposed on the wall and leaned in close to it. A line of light strafed his eye as the scanner examined his cornea, there was a half a second pause followed by the sound of the elevator doors snapping open. Hunter wheeled himself into the elevator and when his escort attempted to follow Hunter waved him away. He would have gone faster with a compliant pushing his chair, but he wanted to do this alone. All the years of work, all the hour of pain, all the moments of anger where about to all pay off.

The elevator sped upward to the uppermost chamber of the laboratory. The doors snapped open and Hunter glided beneath their archways. Beyond the doors stood two armored guards flanking a single glass door, they stood at full attention, guns at their sides and a single hand rose in salute. Hunter wheeled by them with out even a glance, passing through the door. The room past the guards could have easily fit three semi's within its reflective walls. That is if it wasn't chucked full of the most advanced electronic equipment available on the world market. Thick wires, averaging at about six inches in diameter blackened the floor and ceiling; they streamed from the technological equipment and drew together in the center of the room. There was a thin path way between the piles of electronic tubing just wide enough from Hunter's chair to pass through unhindered, and as he approached the girl who was integrated into the system of complex machinery looked up.

She screamed in anger and attempted to lunge out at her captor, the crippled man in the wheel chair simply smiled at her as she strained against the thick metal wires that where imbedded into her.

"You bastard! Where is Torrent! How did you…" A sudden surge of electricity shot through her body, silencing her, sent from one of the many tubes set within her skin.

"Oh come now Ann did you really think you would elude my grasp forever, and as for your troubled little boy friend it will only be a matter of time before he joins us." Despite the pain that had just burned through her Ann screamed out again still filled with defiant anger.

"He will come for me, and for you!" Her eyes glared with the utmost hatred down at the monster sitting beneath her ridged throne.

"As I said my young tool, it is only a matter of time. If he comes, then it will simply save me the trouble of luring him out from under his rock." After a few moments of starring back into the glowering eyes of his captive Hunter pulled a small radio from a compartment on the side of his chair. "Lets get this started shall we?" With that he clicked on the two way communicator and quickly spoke in the authorization code required to switch on the machinery connected to Ann's body.

"Alpha 66 operation final marionette is at go."


	33. Crimson

Crimson

(part 1)

Her eyes pulsated with an unchanging pure wash of golden yellow, their depth stretched into the infinite and yet the intensity in which they focused on to him was transfixing and enthralling. The diamonds absorbed the light that resonated from her exposed flesh and reflected it back in a dancing array of sparkling illuminations. The sweet smell of dark earth and crushed vegetation grew more pungent as the beautiful goddess of the earth leaned ever closer down to his face, and when she touched him he felt the warmth of the sun backed rocks that lay upon the white shores against his skin. Reality melted away and all that was left was the vision of her reaching down toward him, she represented all the beauty in the world that was hidden beneath the pain and corruption brought on by the evil that lives within us all. Beast Boy felt his own hands rising up to grasp her body tight to his, he longed for her touch to wash away the blood from his hands and the nightmares from his dreams.

Then the eyes that starred deeply back into his own changed, they blinked in surprise and the brilliant glow imitating from their center dimmed slightly. The looks of longing vanish and Beast Boy saw horror overtake the fetchers of the one he loved. The hands caressing his face recoiled slowly and the goddess of the earth glanced around as if some unseen antagonist was tormenting her. Beast Boy reached after her as she rose into the air, though she took no notice, she looked around frantically now as if blinded by that which held her. Then she screamed, and all of the earth around her screamed in chorus; causing a thundering echo would that splint the deepest core of any planet. The ground shook and Beast Boy fell back against the force of her cry. The pulsations of golden light became explosions of light emitting from beneath the floating girls eyelids, her hands gripped at the side of her head and the diamonds orbiting her began to crack. Beast Boy cried out but his voice was swallowed up in the monumental roar of the imploding cavern around him. Boulders fell, rocks shattered, crags where split, and in the midst of its all the stone figure, the green boy and the golden goddess stood untouched within the fulcrum of the devastation. Then the aura haloing the earthen deity shifted, it flickered momentarily as if struggling to maintain its former benevolence then fell into a deep blood red glow. Even the eyes that once glimmered like two rising suns now burned like twin tips of a red hot blade. With a wave of the crimson being's hand the crystal wreathing her body shattered like fragile glass and flew into hundreds of translucent shards like red sparks from a broken ember.

What was once Terra looked down for a single instant at the boy lying before her, but unlike before only a cold blank stare shone on her emotionless face. Then she rose upward towards the ceiling of the cavern still amidst the speckling of red stars. Beast Boy staggered to his feet and leapt after his fleeing girl, dark green winds instantly formed from his back and pulled hard against the wind to push him after her. The red child reached the end of the open space and came to the uppermost section of the underground chamber, where she paused. Beast Boy flung him self toward her, though his hands would once again fall just ever to short. For then the rock that separated the red goddess from the upper word tore itself apart in order to free itself from its maters path. The shrapnel and wind from the escaping rock caught the wings of the green boy and flung him away from her. As Beast Boy fell into the dark cavern below he was force to watch the girl he loved transcend to a world she was meant to destroy.

Entrance

(part 2)

The gate that guarded the last of Hunters genetic labs had one of the most modern offensive security systems money could by. Dew to the last few failures in security resulting in complete destruction. Hunter's supervisors upped the cash for a protective barrier that topped that at Fort Knox. Motion detecting cameras as well as turrets where placed every twenty feet around the parameter, patrols as well as stationary guard units where deployed, with an extra unit at the front gate. Today however the front gate personnel had been reduced to four, because most of the soldiers had been drawn back within the mountain fortress for containment security.

All four of the men stood at full attention before the thick metal bar that black entrance to the lab. Cameras watched the area outside as well as the employees, so constant diligence was insured. Suddenly a sound started to fad in from the distance that caused one of the men to twitch his head and look around. It sounded something like the buzz of a large bug or the whine from an electric hedge trimmer. The others heard it but it was to fait to distinguish so the remained unmoving at attention. The nose grew quickly and steadily louder and deepened as it increased in volume. One soldiers finally turned to another and they exchanged confused glances, the source of the noise was indescribable though it had now reached sufficient volume and clarity to identify its origin. It sounded as if a small motorbike was approaching at great speed. The engine hummed and roared closer but still the road ahead of the soldiers remained empty. They raised their guns and waited for something to appear, but the long strait and non-obscured paved road remained fetcher less. Unsure what to do the men watched for another few seconds, finally one of the front men turned to his subordinate and was about to ask him to get the radio and call in the disturbance when something burst from the dense forest lining the edge of the road sending small branches and leaves in every direction like a small explosion of foliage. A red motorcycle mounted by a young wild looking teenager warring a thick utility belt and a armor plated arm brace.

Two glints of metal lanced through the air, one sunk into the neck of the foremost man and the other into the back of the head of the one that had turned to speak to the now startled remnants of the squad. Stunned by the sudden spray of blood that filled the air both security staff still standing simply starred as the bodies of their coworkers fell to the ground. The one that hadn't been asked to use the radio was suddenly struck by a flying bike helmet and flew on his back. The final man actually hid time to raise his gun, before an expandable staff and close lined him across the face as the red bike shot past. Brakes squealed and the bike slid to its side, its metal body sending yellow sparks into the air. The bike slid beneath the thick yellow bar guarding the entrance of the lab with a half an inch to spare. Once past, the bike was pulled upright and returned to its two wheels.

The cameras clicked on with the presence of unexpected movement triggering the automatic turrets. A burst of automatic fire thudded into the pavement next to the bike as it rocketed forward in a sudden burst of speed. Bullets struck the ground just behind the bike as its speed steadily amplified just enough to keep the turrets arch of fire a few inches to short. The metal staff in the riders hand scrapped across the rough pavement, grinding it to a sharp point. Double cement blocks began to rise up from their backs in an attempt to block the approaching threat, but they lifted too gradually. The bike struck them and flew over them like a ramp, sending it and its rider into the air. With no more road to push against the wheels spun uselessly in the air, and the bike slowed to a climax in the air. Torrent crouched and jumped from the bike and flung himself farther up the outer wall of the mountainous libratory. The chain of automatic fire followed his assent, sparking like flint off the hard stone.

Ripping a single grappling gun from the belt strapped about his waist Torrent aimed upward and fired just as his momentum slowed enough for the gunfire to draw a little closer. Another burst of upward speed followed and the automated turrets fell in step. Torrent shot his body up and past the point where his grapple had sunk within the mountains flesh, and finally slowed near the top of the cliff side before a single black window frame. Ripping double grapples from the belt, one in each hand Torrent planted their pointed barbs on either side of the colorless hole in the rock face. The guns internal mechanics sprung to life and catapulted the wild boy strait forward, like a metal ball from a sling shot. The tinted glass exploded inward along with the human missile that broke its surface. Torrent rolled across the carpeted floor now littered with sharp glass and stood unscathed within the final stronghold of his enemy. Now he would save Ann and find those who took her from him.


	34. Answers

Answers

Starfire floated several inches behind Cyborg as the hulking mechanical man hunched over the stone operating table. Her green eye intent on his every motion as he slowly and delicately removed, piece by piece, the implanted control disk from Robins living tissue, and she chewed nervously on her bottom lip the deeper the insertions became. Cyborg worked intently, trying to disregard the presents of the timid young alien princess watching from over his shoulder. The jester know as Alice who had sat upon the metal monolith's shoulder was gone, sent away by her master to be summoned once again when her services where required.

Raven sat alone in a deeper chamber, void of light and thick with moisture, here she was alone with her thoughts. The power that burned within her fueled itself on the emotions that hid just beneath the surface, and that one night so many moons ago had broken that thin layer that had kept the power in check and under control. Her mind always found its way back to his face and his voice, and whenever she thought of him the emotions burned and her power flared up to the brink of her control. The wings that grew from Ravens bare shoulders had been formed from that overload of magical energy; her physical body was not meant to withstand such force and had been obligated to alter itself. Her tolerance for emotion had increased but the control over her powers was not what it had once been. Other gifts had surface while others weakened or diminished after her unwilling transformation. On of these that surfaced was the ability to create and control a corporal manifestation. The jester illusion called sparks had been one of these and had been created by her for a single purpose, to watch and to report back to its maker. And so with its help Raven was forced to watch in the shadows as the world that she knew had been taken piece by piece into the depths of madness.

In this time of waiting and listening Raven caught whispers of Terra through the psychic channels churning through our world, though she knew not when or what Hunter planned to do regarding the diseased child of the earth. Her resurrection had been just as big of a revelation to her as all the others. Raven sent Alice to watch the girl that had once loved the boy Raven now felt so much for. This was when the monster that called himself General Hunter seized power, and with his influence he was able to turn the Titans against potential allies and turn the world ageist the Titans and those like them. In a single day Hunter took the Tower, the Titans, Terra, and even Beast Boy. Miraculously Terra escaped along with the savage teen and the youthful psychic she traveled with, but now the young green boy that had awakened the burning inside of her was gone. He had been hidden away by the most manipulative fiend Raven had ever met. The wings growing from her shoulders rustled slightly as she thought of Beast Boy, the rock around her groaned slightly as the pressure of the mounting power within its walls grew. Clinching her teeth she forced the emotions welling up inside of her under control. Slowly the rustling of the feathers and the cracking of the stone subsided and her face was calm once more. Raven knew that she could never be with him, she knew what might happen.

Commotion in the chamber to her right caught her attention, the others where standing up and stepping away from the stone slab where Robin was lying. Raven floated to her feet and glided with no assistance from her stationary wings to the edge of the shadowed room and watched. Robin slowly sat up; the black suit still wrapped around his body tough the orange disk had been surgically removed, replaced with a patch of gauze and strips of bandages. His eyes where still clinched close, though he shook his head as if waking from a long and uncontrollable nightmare. Starfire hesitantly flew several inches closer to her woken leader, and Robin looked up at her. They looked into each others eyes for a moment of complete silence. Then Robin looked away, covering his face with his hands he wept. Starfire tried to reach out to comfort him, but could not force her hand to touch the being who had just so recently been overtaken by such a strong evil. She watched as the grief of his forced deeds washed over him, he cried out in anguish and regret to the black ceiling over his head. Drifting down to her knees the innocent Starfire averted her eyes from the boy that had been her first and only love and who had become the vicious tool of her enemy. Cyborg watched in silence, the bloody operating tools still clutched in one hand. The two broken lovers lay on the cold stones and neither could gather the strength to look into the eyes of one who had caused such pain. It was Raven who stepped from the shadows, and broke the silence unceremoniously with a direct question,

"We need information Robin. We'll deal with your actions latter, but for now we must know what Hunter is planning." Robin stopped his soundless weeping even though the tears still brimmed the edges of his eyes, no response came to the question however. Raven floated forward and raised her wings to their full length over the sitting boy. When she spoke the ground shook and the rocks cracked, the force of the emotion in her words pouring into the environment around her. "Now Robin!"

The boy wonder cringed slightly from beneath the stare of the black idol, even so her gaze remained firm and her face unchanging. Robin slowly swung his legs off to one side of the rock slab and slouching against his knees. His hair shadowed his eyes and when he spoke his voice sounded raspy and thin as if he had just screamed it all gone.

"I only know so much, but it's enough to know that the world is damned to a slow and painful destruction. I even helped to start the cogs of his sick procedure to turn, all of us did." Starfire looked up slowly and painfully at Robin as he forced himself to recite the life which he had led under the control of the cursed general. "The general had every thing planned out from the beginning, and no matter how many times you slipped through his finger or stopped his plans he would win in the end no matter what… all he needed was the girl, and I delivered her right into his hands."

"Why doses he need the incomplete psychic, her powers are diminutive at best. How is she the instrument of our downfall?" Raven pushed for Robin to keep speaking, she needed to know more.

"Your wrong about her Raven, the power that sleeps within that girl involves the destruction of us all. Hunter wants to have power over the one that can command all others, but I doubt even he had keep such a force under control. Her power will awaken and all will be lost, she is the key to the lock that which was formed from the ashes from the final apprentice."

Then Raven understood. With Ann, Hunter had every thing he needed to create an instrument that could control Terra… along with the rest of the gifted on the planet.


End file.
